A FEW NOTES FROM PAST LIFE 



1818 1832. 



EDITED, FROM CORRESPONDENCE, 



BY THE 

EEV. FEANCIS TRENCH, M.A. 

EECTOE OF ISLIP, OXFOBD. 




OXFORD: 

PRINTED BY JAMES WRIGHT, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY, 
AND PUBLISHED BY 

JOHN HENRY AND JAMES PARKER, 

OXFORD, AND 3/7, STRAND, LONDON. 
MDCCCLXII. 



PREFACE. 



A few words will sufficiently explain the origin 
and publication of the present volume. 

On the death of his Father, at a very advanced age, 
the Editor unexpectedly found that the whole series 
of his letters to his parents and some of theirs to him, 
with other correspondence, had been carefully pre- 
served from their earliest date. 

It appeared to him, on looking over this very large 
collection, that a few Letters and Extracts might be 
selected, touching upon subjects of adequate interest 
for private circulation among his family and personal 
friends. 

With this intention the Editor had a certain por- 
tion printed at Oxford, running through a period of 
no less than fourteen years in the present very mode- 
rately sized volume. 

He was subsequently led to believe that the sub- 
jects referred to might, from their variety, afford 
interest to a larger circle, and he ventures to hope 
a 2 



IV 



PREFACE. 



that mere personal matters will not be found to oc- 
cupy more space than is desirable, or unsuitable to 
public circulation, but only prove a needful link for 
the whole. The Index, on this point, must speak for 
itself. 

All intelligent readers will at once feel and admit 
the difficulty of due selection and arrangement in any 
such publication. Accordingly, while the Editor is 
not without some anxiety on this subject, he has no 
doubt that this very remembrance will, at least, en- 
sure for these pages a favourable consideration. 

Islip Rectory, Oxrord, 
Feb. 1862. 



INDEX TO LETTERS, EXTRACTS, ETC. 



Page 



1. From his Mother (Mrs. R. Trench) to F. T. 
On holydays 2 

2. From the same to the same. 

On the Southampton election, &c 2 

3. From the same to the same. 
Egotism : when desirable. — Caricatures. — Respect for 

teachers 5 

4. From the same to the same. 

Country scenes. — Town scenes. — Anecdotes 7 

5. From F. T. to his Mother. 

School games. — School lessons 9 



6. From his Mother to F. T. 
Absence of mind. — Harrow speech-room. — Mr. Grat- 



tan's funeral. IO 

7. From the same to the same. 

Rhymes. — Anecdote 1 1 

8. From F. T. to his Mother. 

Verses. — Prize poems 12 

9. From the same to the same. 

Prize poems. — Cricket 12 

10. From his Mother to F. T. 
Penmanship. — Broadlands 13 

11. From F.T. to his Mother. 

Queen's trial 14 



vi INDEX TO LETTERS, 

12. From his Mother to F. T. 

C 's absence. — Thoughts on futurity p. 15 

13. From F. T. to his Mother. 

Mr. Cunningham. — Harrow library 16 

13. From the same to the same. 
School matters 17 

14. From his Mother to F. T. 

Horace. — Card playing 18 

15. From the same to the same. 

London. — Music. — The Belzonis 20 

16. From F. T. to his Mother. 

The coronation. — Prize poems. — Class competition . . 22 

17. From the same to the same. 

Sir Eobert "Wilson. — Newspaper stories 24 

18. From the same to the same. 
Bibliography. — Public news 24 

19. From the same to the same. 

Harrow speech-day. , 27 

20. From the same to the same. 

H. Drury's library. — Political couplet 27 

21. From the same to the same. 

Anecdotes 28 

22. From the same to the same. 
Health. — School matters. — Brougham's oratory. — 

Blomfield, afterwards Bishop of London 29 

23. From the same to the same. 

Public matters. — Books for reading 32 

24. From the same to the same. 

School matters. 34 



EXTRACTS, ETC. vii 

25. From the same to the same, 
Prize poem. — Confirmation P- 35 

27. From the same to the same. 

Oriel College 36 

28. From the same to the same. 

Wear's murder. — Oriel examination 38 

29. From the same to the same. 

Lord Clarendon and Mr. Page. — Dr. Butler 39 

30. From the same to the same. 

Harrow churchyard 41 

31. From his Mother to F. T. 

Prize poem 43 

32. From F. T. to his Mother. 

Cricket. — Character of Harrow 43 

33. From the same to the same. 

Farewell verses 45 

34. From his Mother to F. T. 

Penshurst. — Portraits. — Old servant 49 

35. From F. T. to his Mother. 

Wales. — Dublin. — Fellow travellers 51 

36. From the same to the same 

Gosford castle. — Irish anecdote. — Ladies of Llangollen 53 

37. From the same to the same. 

Oxford. — Coplestone. — Etiquette 55 

38. From the same to the same. 
Matriculation. — Oxford proceedings 56 

39. From the same to the same. 



Chessel. — Monthly Magazine. — Oriel. — Winter scene. 58 



viii INDEX TO LETTEES, 

40. From the same to the same. 
Country visits. — Charities. — Storm. — Southampton p. 60 

41. From his Mother to F. T. 

Society 62 

42. From F. T. to his Mother. 

Oxford Debating Society. — Chief speakers. — Scene 
with proctor 62 

43. From his Mother to F. T. 

Undue expenditure. — General reading 64 

44. From F. T. to his Mother. 
Imposition. — Paley 65 

45. From the same to the same. 

Debating Society. — Blenheim 66 

46. From the same to the same. 

College rooms 68 

47. From the same to the same. 
Chessel. — Lord Cochrane — Orators, ancient and mo- 
dern. — Translation from Gray 68 

48. From the same to the same. 

Oxford. — The Schools. — Speakers at Debating Society. 72 

49. From the same to the same. 

Aristotle. — College matters ^ 4 

50. From the same to the same. 

Oxford sights. — London University 75 

51. From the same to the same. 
Edinburgh Eeview. — Extract from Coplestone 77 

52. From the same to the same. 

A dilemma. — Oriel men ^ n 



EXTRACTS, ETC. ix 

53. From the same to the same. 
Public matters. — Shooting. — Anecdote p. 82 

54. From his Mother to F. T. 

Moliere. — Scott. — Shakespeare. — Byron 85 

55. From F. T. to his Mother. 
Newdegate poem 86 

56. From the same to the same. 

Lloyd's Scholarship. — Fatal accident 86 

57. From the same to the same. 
College matters. — Debate on slavery. — Portrait of 

Mary, queen of Scots 88 

58. From the same to the same. 
College matters. — Doctor Tatham's sermon. — Dr. 

Shuttleworth. — Christ Church meadow and boats . . 90 

59. From the same to the same. 

Verses for Newdegate prize 93 

60. From the same to the same. 

Oxford matters. — Lanhydrock 96 

61. From the same to the same. 

Oxford freshmen. — Berkshire downs 98 

62. From the same to the same. 

Bodleian Library. — Meeting at Cheltenham 100 

63. From the same to the same. 
Cambridge and Oxford compared 102 

64. From the same to the same. 

The Greek chorus. — The Representative. — Oxford 
sights 103 

65. From the same to the same. 

Mr. Jelf. — Testimonial 104 



X INDEX TO LETTERS, 

66. From the same to the same. 
First classes. — Ball for distressed silk-weavers. — Prize 



poems. — Private tutors p. 105 

67. From the same to the same. 

Scene in the Schools. — Observations on it 108 

68. From the same to the same. 

Oxford dignitaries. — Blanco White 112 

69. From the same to the same. 

Oxford studies. — Profession of a clergyman 113 

70. From F. T. to his Father. 
His mother's health. — Profession of a clergyman 115 

71 . From the same to the same. 

Recent bereavement 117 

72. From the same to the same. 

Heron Court. — Party there. — Library. — Shooting. .. 118 

73. From the same to the same. 
Return to Oxford. — R 's tragedy. — Mr. Peel. 

Reminiscences 119 

74. From the same to the same. 



Debating Society. — All Souls' election. — Observations. 122 



75. From the same to the same. 

Literature at Oxford 125 

76. From the same to the same. 

The Provost made Bishop. — Oxford climate. — Livy. 
— First classes 126 

77. From the same to the same. 

W 's health. — "Whiteway. — Devonshire scenery. 

— Duke of Clarence 129 

78. From the same to the same. 

Return to Oxford. — Popular revenge 131 



EXTRACTS, ETC. 



xi 



79. From the same to the same. 

Class paper. — Explanation of it. — Newman. — Re- 
miniscences p. 132 

80. From the same to the same. 

Oxford honours. — Future plans 135 

81. (No. 1.) From the same to the same. 
London life and friends. — The Casket 137 

81. (No. 2.) From the same to the same. 
Books. — Irish affairs 139 

82. From the same to the same. 
Woodlawn. — Irish scenes and interests 140 

83. From the same to the same. 
Connemara. — Ballynahinch. — The Martins. — Marble 

quarries. — Primitive lodging. — State of the people. 

— Salmon fishing. — Progress through Connemara. 142 

84. From the same to the same. 

Naples to Sicily by sea. — Messina, Scylla and Cha- 
rybdis. — Earthquakes. — Fellow travellers. — Sici- 
lian vegetation. — Arrangements for journey round 
Sicily 149 

85. From the same to the same. 

Mule travelling. — Beauty of the scenery. — Accommo- 
dation. — Taormini and its theatre. — First sight of 
iEtna. — Sicilian banditti. — Catania. — Lava. — Si- 
cilian antiquities. — Dearth of books 153 

88. From the same to the same. 
Ascent of iEtna. — Halt at Nicolosi. — Ride by night. 
Summit of the mountain. — The crater. — The view. 
■ — Craters of iEtna and Vesuvius compared. — 



xii 



INDEX TO LETTERS, 



Eruptions properly so called. — Observations on 
the ascent. — Progress to Syracuse. — Floral beauty 
of the soil. — St. Paul. — Ear of Dionysius. — Foun- 
tain of Arethusa, — The papyrus. — Ruins. — Rocky 
cemetery. — Scripture quoted. — Greek vases. — 
Sicilian muleteer p. 160 

87- From the same to the same. 
Palazzuola. — Capuchin convent. — Rough lodging. — 
Conversation with the monk. — Population and 
productions of soil. — Disputation with natives. — 
Girgenti ruins. — Sicilian inn. — Sicilian poem .... 175 

88. From the same to the same. 
Selinus. — Ruins. — Lizards and scorpion. — Segesta. — 

Temple. — Approach to Palermo. — The " Golden 
Shell." — City of Palermo. — Beautiful bay 185 

89. From the same to the same. 
General observations on Sicily. — Charms of the ex- 
cursion 194 

90. From his Father to F. T. 

Passes of the Alps. — Venice. — Milan. — Vevay. — 
Lausanne 197 

91. From F. T. to his Father. 

Naples. — Lodging. — Circulating library, and its 
owner. — False rumours about Naples. — Neapoli- 
tan tailors. — National character. — Capua. — Nola. 
— Society, Italian and English. — Neapolitan trial. 
— Plan of journey homeward 200 

92. From the same to the same. 
Yetturino travelling. — Eastern coast of Italy. — Ita- 
lian nobility. — Beauty of spring vegetation. — Lo- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. Xlll 

retto. — The Santa Casa. — Its revenues. — French 
offering in former times p. 205 

93. From the same to the same. 

On news from Ireland. — Reminiscences of recent tra- 
vels. — Ancona 211 

94. From the same to the same. 

Como. — Interesting journey by land, river, and sea. — 
River Po. — Rimini. — The Metaurum. — The Rubi- 
con. — Fellow travellers. — Ferrara. — Tasso. — Pass- 
age boat. — Storm on the Lagunes. — Night on the 
Lagunes. — Entrance to Venice from the sea. — For- 
bidden books. — Life at Venice. — Venetian nobles. 
— Milan. — Home politics 213 

95. From the same to the same. 

Basle. — French revolution. — Reception of the news 
in Switzerland 221 

96. From the same to the same. 
Rotterdam. — The Rhine. — French revolution. — Hei- 
delberg. — Baden. — Swiss lakes. — Poor colonies of 
Holland. — French news 1 224 

98. From the same to the same. 
Distress in Ireland. — Journey of inspection. — Causes 
of distress. — Westport. — Walk to Newport. — 
Scenes there. — Walk to Crossmolina. — Meeting 
with a friend. — Native appeals. — Ruinous destitu- 
tion 230 

J ournal. 

Westport. — Food of the people.' — Struggles for pota- 
toes .- . s 234 



XIV 



INDEX TO LETTERS, 



Journal. 

Newport. — State of the fields. — Destitution. — Efforts 
towards relief in the famine p. 236 

Journal. 

Crossmolina, — Efforts of charity. — Eelief committee. 
Works in progress. — Call for fresh exertion. — Ap- 
palling destitution. — Summary 238 

Letter to Dublin Evening Post. 
Loan funds for the poor and industrious. — Principle 
of the measure. — Means for their establishment. . . . 244 

From a Friend to F. T. 
On loan funds for England 251 

From a Friend to F. T. 
Loan funds for Ireland 251 

From his Father to F. T. 
London society. — Encouragement in benevolent ob- 
jects. — Opinions of Sir H. Parnell on loans and 
cash credits 252 

102. From F. T. to his Father. 
Horse and hunting. — Irish school. — Hampshire news. 
— Miss Kemble in Juliet. — Party at Netley Abbey. 
— Loan funds. — Parish libraries. — French libraries 
in country towns. — Charitable activity. — Allot- 
ments 254 

103. From Lady Noel Byron to F. T. 
Liberia. — Home colonies. — Principles of charity. — 
Need of personal communication with the poor on 
measures in their behalf 257 



EXTRACTS, ETC. 



XV 



104. From F. T. to his Father. 
Reform agitation. — Assemblages in London. — King's 
levee. — State of Birmingham. — Attwood and Ro- 
bert Owen. — Organization of the masses. — Home 
colonization. — Hume and the Mary-le-bone petition p.261 

105. From the same to the same. 
Mr. Grattan's Poor Assessment Bill. — House of 
Lords and the Reform Bill. — Political clubs, uni- 



ons, &e. — Signs of the times. — The cholera 264 

106. From his Father to F. T. 

Public affairs. — Political Unions 267 

107. From F.T. to his Father. 

Irish affairs. — Lincoln's Inn Field meeting. — Bishop 
of Norwich. — Irving and his church. — Portraits of 
Irving. — Home colonies. — Poor Law for Ireland. — 
Bristol Riots 268 

108. From the same to the same. 
Lincoln's Inn dinner. — Cholera. — Newspapers. — Re- 
volutionary publications. — Political asperity. — 
Pamphlet by the Editor 274 

109. From his Father to F. T. 

Irish affairs. — Tithes. — Home colonies. — Robert 
Owen. — Irving and his church. — On the times 278 

110. From F.T. to his Father. 
Lincoln's Inn dinners. — Professor Smythe. — Lady 

Noel Byron. — Moore's Life of Lord Edward Fitz- 
gerald. — Destitute French clergy 280 

111. From the same to the same. 
Receipt against cholera. — French clergy. — Arthur 
O'Connor's letter. — Editor's pamphlet. — Irish 



clergy. — Apparent duty of the State towards them. 283 



XVI INDEX TO LETTERS, EXTRACTS, ETC. 



112. From the same to the same. 

Visit to Cambridge. — Foster's Essays. — Irving and 
his church. — Reminiscences of Irving p. 286 

113. From the same to the same. 
Hampshire visits. — Lecture at Southampton. — At- 

wood on the currency. — Exchange bazaar. — Irish 
poor 289 

114. From the same to the same. 
London curacies. — Exchange bazaar. — Party disputes. 

— Political state of Birmingham. — Lord Dun- 
donald. — Mr. Sturgess Bourne 292 

115. From a friend to the Editor. 

Irish election. — Invitation to the Editor 295 

116. From his Father to F. T. 
Politics. — Repeal question „ 296 

117. From the same to the same. 

Irish election. — Advice on the subject 298 

118. From the same to the same. 

Irish election, &c 299 

119. From F. T. to his Father. 
Political life, &c 299 

120. From the same to the same. 
Irish affairs. — Henry Moore and his parish of Car- 
new. — Dinner party in Ireland. — Mr. Stanley. — 
London politics. — Sir J. Hobhouse. — Sir Francis 
Burdett. — Signs of the times 301 



LETTERS, EXTEACTS, ETC. 



THE Series of Letters from which the fol- 
lowing extracts are taken, begins with the 
first letter which the editor wrote from 
school, in the year 1816, and the answer 
from his mother is still in existence, kindly 
and playfully correcting his orthography of 
school, which he had written " schule. " 
He was then at Twyford, near Winchester, 
under the tuition of that able and accom- 
plished instructor, the Rev. James Gover 
Bedford, to whom all his pupils are so 
deeply indebted. As may be supposed, 
the letters for some time between mother 
and son were so entirely juvenile on the 
one hand, and, on the other, so exclusively 
written, as the answers of a parent to a 
very young boy, that the editor advances 
to the time when he was at Harrow, and 
the following extract is taken from a letter 
addressed to him there. Its whole tone and 
spirit so well illustrate the mode in which 

B 



2 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the writer was accustomed to convey en- 
couragement to mental exertion in the most 
attractive and original form, that with it, it 
is hoped, these pages may well begin. 



l.—From his Mother to F. T. 

April 28, 18 18. 

I have had some conversation on the subject 
of the numerous holydays * at Harrow with 
two or three sensible men, and I will give you 
the result of their opinion, as nearly as I can, 
in their own words : — " The great number of 
holydays do not encourage idleness. A clever 
and well-disposed boy makes use of them to 
learn his tasks to perfection, not merely so as 
to escape punishment, but to deserve praise. 
He writes also his verses, so as to give them 
the air, not of a task, but of a well-finished 
composition. He makes himself acquainted 
with everything relative to his studies. He 
looks into a mythological or biographical dic- 
tionary for the lives of all who are mentioned 
in his task. He keeps in a little blank book 
a sort of register of his studies, by which he 
judges of his own progress. In this book he 

* In some of the editor's letters about this time ap- 
pear notices of the many holydays at Harrow, so far more 
numerous than those of a private school. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 



copies his verses. He writes to his friends 
letters in good correct English, giving his 
opinion on books and general transactions. 
In short, these holy days give the idle and 
dull time to learn their lessons so passably, 
as, for the most part, to escape any severity 
of punishment, while they furnish the clever 
boys with leisure to become intimately ac- 
quainted with all they learn, and to follow 
the bent of their own inclinations in the line 
of study they adopt." 

Adieu, dearest ! I have no time to say 
more. 



2. — From the same to the same. 

Bursledon Lodge, 9 July, 18 18. 

Your letter of Sunday the 5th gave great 
pleasure to your affectionate mother, whose 
highest delight is in the attachment of her 
sons, and who is obliged by the solicitude you 
express, not merely for her safety, but that 
she may not have been even frightened. I 
was not in the carriage on the day it was so 
shamefully attacked by a mob, who really did 
not know what they wanted, nor why they 
were angry, except that your uncle was 
known to be supported by Government in 
his desire to represent the town of South- 
ampton. On his leaving the hustings, he 

B 2 



4 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



was surrounded by a very angry crowd, who 
pressed on him, and seemed inclined to throw 
him down, but he was shielded by the phy- 
sical force of his friends, among whom, you 
may suppose, your father was the most ac- 
tive. He then got into Mr. D/s carriage, 
and your papa on the box, — for which, by 
the bye, you and I must be a little angry 
with him, as it was the most exposed and 
most dangerous place. The mob still pur- 
sued the carriage, and threw stones and brick- 
bats and mud. No one was seriously hurt, 
but the servants were covered with dirt, and 
the carriage injured. 

The most extraordinary part is, that it is 
believed sir W. is a stronger advocate for the 
measures of the present ministers than lord 
Ashtown. Your uncle declared on the hustings 
he would vote against the income tax, in 
time of peace — and even in time of war, un- 
less made less injurious to the trading part 
of the empire, and that he would vote 
against the suspension of the Habeas Cor- 
pus, except in times of civil dissension, and 
for the inquiry into the abuses of private 
charity, proposed by Mr. Brougham. Keep 
my letters, dearest F., they will be to me, 
on some future day, memoranda of what is 
now going on. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 5 

The enthusiastic affection felt in this town 
for Chamberlayne exceeds any thing I have 
yet seen excited by a private man. He is 
a professed Foxite — a person of superior 
endowments — of high mental cultivation — 
of a good taste in literature and the arts, 
and an admirable public speaker. 



3. — From the same to the same. 

Bursledon Lodge, 9 Feb. 18 19. 
The visible improvement in your hand- 
writing and style gives me great pleasure. 
It is certainly a considerable addition to 
one s own happiness, and that of one's friends, 
to write letters with ease and perspicuity. 
To those who are well taught, and have the 
habit of reading the best authors, elegance 
will naturally follow, without being peculi- 
arly sought. Many persons make their let- 
ters uninteresting to their friends by mis- 
applying the rule which desires us to avoid 
" egotism." 

" Egotism is as proper and satisfactory to 
one s parents and one's dearest friends as it 
is impertinent and misplaced with strangers. 
I desire," says a fond father to his son, in 
a letter I have before me, "to see you in 
your every-day clothes, by your fireside, in 



6 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



yoiir pleasures, in short, in your private life \ 
and this is what every affectionate person 
must feel. 

^Drawing a caricature of one s schoolmaster, 
who stands for the time in the place of a pa- 
rent, was wrong, as disrespectful ; leaving it 
where he must see it, was still more wrong ; 
more or less, every one is at least supposed to 
feel uneasy at being caricatured. To prevent 
the person sent to wash it off, from so doing, 
was worse than all, as it was deliberate, pre- 
meditated rebellion. The worst of all is, that 
it is very seldom that the boy who commits 
an open offence of this kind is most guilty. 
I have heard from men who had been at the 
great schools, that there is usually some sly, 
ill-natured, shabby dunce, who instigates and 
persuades another boy to commit follies of this 
kind, either from a stupid love of mischief, or 
from envy at his superior quickness in learn- 
ing, or favour with his masters. 

Boys who are not clever enough to excel in 
their studies, and who have not sufficient fancy 
to amuse themselves, are fond of bringing 
others into scrapes, and call it sport. " Am 

* This refers to a notice in a letter of the editor, in 
which he had spoken of a caricature of the head-master 
beiDg drawn on the school-walls, and of the consequences 
which ensued. There is no need to transcribe it. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 



7 



not I in sport," says the madman, who " cast- 
eth firebrands, arrows and death'?" — snch is 
the description in the Bible of this silly and 
dangerous character. I am quite sure Mrs. 
Leith* took " all possible care of you," and I 
feel much obliged to her, and beg you will say 
that if I do not write to thank her, and also to 
acknowledge her last kind letter, it is merely 
to avoid giving her unnecessary trouble, hav- 
ing already caused her so much. — Do not for- 
get this message. 



4. — From the same to the same. 

Pulteney Hotel, Piccadilly, 18 Feb. 1819. 
You will be pleased to know that we ar- 
rived in town to-day. I received your letter 
just as I was stepping into the carriage — and 
it was a little cordial to me, helping me to 
bear what I so much dislike — a removal 
from a place with which I am fully satisfied. 
I never left Bursledon with so much regret. I 
wished much to have collected my dear boys, 
and seen them all happy there at Easter, and 
besides, I had many pursuits that interested 
me very much — gardening — -printing — plans 
of charity &c. &c. &c. However, your papa 

* The editor and his brother, now dean of Westminster, 
boarded at her house. 



8 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



was anxious that we should not delay furnish- 
ing our new house, and you know I am always 
happy to give up my own inclinations to those 
whom I love. The weather was enchanting — 
crocuses in full and splendid blow, and I used 
to sit out in my chair, seeing my roses trans- 
planted, and my violets divided. I have not 
been so well for many months. 

There is a little urchin under my window, 
whose regular and practised tone of begging 
forbids my sending him anything, as I should 
only ensure his coming, with others like him, 
for the whole time of my visit here — yet it 
makes me uneasy, and I believe I must either 
send him something quite against my sense of 
right, or leave off writing. He is a very bad 
exchange for my robin redbreasts. 

We saw II. and P. — both busy and pro- 
sperous. P. is to begin Greek and verses 
immediately. 

When I have nothing particular to say, I 
shall fill up my letter with anecdotes or quo- 
tations. 

A Swedish gentleman seeing another co- 
vered with stars and orders, cried out, " Bless 
me, I took him for a kaleidoscope." 

Mr. at his ball had his coat of arms 

drawn in chalk, on the floor of the ballroom, 
to prevent the dancers from slipping. A gen- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HAKEtOW. 



9 



tleman there said : " Mr. dances on his 

arms as well as his legs." 

" Le veritable eloquence consiste a dire tout 
ce qu'il faut, et a ne dire que ce qu il faut." — 
Rochefaucault. 

" There is no secret in fewer hands than that 
of knowing when to have done." — Swift. 

Adieu, dearest F., according to the admo- 
nition of my last quotation. 



5.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, Sept. 1819. 

You desired me to tell you about our 
games and lessons. There is not much gohig 
on now, as we have just left off cricket, but 
football will soon come in. I send you a few 
verses, as I did not bring them home with me 
last time. They are about the river Danube 
and the countries through which it flows, but 
as they were done two or three months ago, 
I hope soon to be able to send you some bet- 
ter. I have just heard that one of the Irish 
bishops, who is a cousin of ours, is made arch- 
bishop of Tuam. He was at Harrow when a 
boy, and that is the reason why I mention it. 
Pray send me the book of your poems which 
you promised me as soon as possible, 



10 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



6. — From his mother to F. T. 

Sept. 1 6. 1819. 

You forgot to enclose the promised verses 
in your letter. Avoid these little marks of 
absence of mind : how would Lord Castlereagh 
look, if you were a diplomatist, and that you 
said — " I have the honour of enclosing for his 
majesty's perusal an interesting document 
relative to Swedish affairs" — and lo ! no such 
document there ! You would be civilly ad- 
vised to withdraw from the mission. Now 
your verses are just as precious to me. I con- 
gratulate your father, you, and myself, on the 
frequent marks of approbation they have re- 
ceived. To write good verses is a most grace- 
ful accomplishment, even in those whose busi- 
ness in life is of a different nature. At present 
it is your business, and your complete success 
gives us at home much pleasure. 

I cannot write any thing on the opening 
of the Speech room, having exhausted my 
thoughts on the subject in my lines on laying 
the foundation stone. I shall be obliged to 
you for translating something of mine into 
Latin verse — Campaspe perhaps, as that is 
a classical subject — or the lines on the princess 
Charlotte — in short, I care not what. 

Papa is gone to attend the funeral of Mr. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. HARROW. 11 



Grattan, that great and good man — an orator, 
a statesman, a patriot, the zealous defender of 
civil and religious liberty, the lover of order 
and of union, — the brilliant, impressive and 
condensed orator, the kindest and pleasantest 
husband, father, friend, and companion. 

We send you a pretty set of Hume s Eng- 
land as a present. 



7. — From the same to the same. 

Sept. 17, 1819. 

Your kindness in saying every thing that 
would make me at ease about your journey 
has not been lost on me ; and I am extremely 
pleased with your having employed part of 
your morning on the Friday you were in town 
in writing those pretty verses on the setter. 
You need not apologize for " grassy beds/' 
The line is very pretty, and you could not 
have a better rhyme to " treads." You know 
spelling is never attended to in the rhymes of 
English verse. The only line I do not like is — 
He turns his head towards his master's way. 

To-wards is not admissible in poetry as a 
two-syllable word, though towards is per- 
mitted. 

R. is not less anxious to learn than usual, 
and goes to a classical master every day to 



12 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



make verses. He makes twelve or fourteen 
verses, and does ten or twelve lines of Analecta 
in two hpurs. When I am better I shall French 
him. You have possibly heard that when a 
farmers wife was asked what she had done 
with her daughter, she answered — I have 
F reached her and music cl her, and sent her to 
Paris to finish her. 



8.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, June, 1820. 

I have had two sets of verses read over 
this quarter, and have a good chance of ano- 
ther, when I shall receive a prize-book. Thank 
you for the Hume's History of England, which 
is just the kind of book I like. 

The new Speech-room is nearly finished, and 
looks very well. I hope you will come when 
it is opened; when, besides the usual speeches, 
the prize-poems will be recited by the boys 
who have written them. There will be one 
in English, another in Latin, and another in 
Greek, about the new Speech-room, and the 
school in general. Do come if you can. 



9. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, July 17, 1820. 
I AM very sorry that you could not come 
to the speeches, though you would not have 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 13 

heard any English verses. What do you 
think % There was not a boy who could pro- 
duce a poem in English sufficiently good to 
be recited at the opening, and therefore the 
prize intended for the English poem was 
given to the second best Latin composition. 
There was an eulogy in the 'Morning Herald 7 
on the Greek Sapphics, which I believe they 
well deserved. The paper said that they 
would have been successful at any college 
competition. The opening of the speech-room 
went on very successfully, and the building 
is even more admired than was expected. 
We are very busy at cricket now, and the 
eleven play the Uxbridge club to-morrow. I 
have improved a little in the game, and am 
very fond of it indeed. A week has been 
added to our holidays, which is a good thing, 
as we are never in a hurry to leave the ponies, 
garden, &c. &c. 



10.— From his Mother to F. T. 

Bursledon Lodge, Sept., 1820. 
I write with a most execrable pen. Excuse 
so strong a- word, and try to learn what you 
can in your youth. Had I learned pen- 
making, I should have avoided many petty 
inconveniences, and impatience and murmur- 



14 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



ing against the order of things. Had I learned 
drawing, I should not only have increased my 
stock of pleasurable employments, but had it 
in my power to preserve a more lively recol- 
lection of the natural beauties which fall in 
my way. 

Yesterday I saw Lord Palmerston s Broad- 
lands, a place of great beauty, and of a pecu- 
liar freshness which is indescribably pleasing. 
It is endowed with a rapid river running 
through the grounds, which adds more charm 
to a place than perhaps any other feature. 



11.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, November, 1820. 

I should be much obliged if you would 
tell me what you think about the decision on 
the Queens trial. The boys are mostly for 
her, and shew what they think about it by 
wearing white cockades, illuminating their 
studies, &c. Dr. Butler does not approve of 
this at all, and spoke to the whole school 
about it half an hour ago, saying that there 
should be no such thing as a display of party 
spirit in a school, and that it would produce 
enmities among the boys. He may be right- 
in the former saying, but I am sure the boys 
would not quarrel among themselves, or like 



EXTRACTS, ETC. HARROW. 15 



one another the less, whatever side they took. 
He was quite mistaken there, at all events. 



12.— From his Mother to R T. 

Nov., 1821. 

I am not quite well, but support C — s in- 
tended absence and the fears I entertain about 
his winter residence in Stockholm with more 
fortitude than is usual to me — I hope from an 
increase of piety — I am sure not from a dimi- 
nution of love. 

But when I have seen the ripe fruit sud- 
denly shaken down in my dear Miss Agar*, and 
that less mature in the spirited and gentle Arm- 
strong!, and the flower blasted in the youthful 
C — , who adorned a deathbed of poverty and 
privation by the sweetest and most endearing 
Christian graces and kindly affections, I am 
forcibly drawn to the consideration of a world 
purer, better, and more permanent than this. 

Adieu, dearest F. ; remember, that to en- 
sure a place there, ought, in common sense 
and just calculation — were there no other in- 
ducements and motives — to be the chief end of 
all your aims here. So far fortunate is your 
situation, that at present both aims — that of 

* Sister of Lord Clifden, and one of her oldest friends, 
f A young soldier, nephew, in whom she took much 
interest. 



16 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



happiness here and hereafter — seem insepa- 
rably combined. I long to see your last 
Latin verses, and R — 's. Pray keep them 
carefully for me. 



IS.— From F. T. to Us Mother. 

Harrow, January 19, 1821. 

I am sorry to tell you that Mr. Cunning- 
ham's wife died about a week ago, and has 
left a large family : I believe she was very 
charitable, and she is a great loss to all the 
poor people about here. Mr. Cunningham, 
with whom, I believe, papa dined sometime 
ago at uncle A — s, does a great deal of good, 
not merely in his own parish, but everywhere 
that he can. 

I can now get into the library here when- 
ever I please, and am able to stay there as 
long as I wish, with Thornton, whom I like 
very much*. He has a key. I have been there 
a good while to-day, reading Clarke s Travels 
in Europe, &c, and copying some prints of Ro- 
man ruins. I have also finished reading and 
taking some notes of Kennett s Roman Anti- 
quities, and have begun Potters Grecian 
Antiquities in the same manner. 

I have got a drawing which I did last 

* Now the Rev. W. T. of Brockhall, Northamptonshire. 
The friendship is still the same, 1861. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 17 



quarter, of the old school, and I shall send 
it to you by the first opportunity. The new 
shell-room is finished, and we inhabited it 
yesterday for the first time. It is much 
lighter, pleasanter, and more convenient than 
the former one, which was just like an old 
hayloft, and very uncomfortable. Harry can 
walk about and spout in the present one to 
his fall satisfaction. 



IS.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, Feb. 182 1. 

I have the pleasure to tell you that I have 
had some verses read over, and have got a 
nice little Horace * for a prize. They were 
upon iEneas, after having left the cave of the 
Sibyl of Cuma, finding the dead body of his 
friend, Misenus, who had been the trumpeter 
and companion of Hector, lying on the shore, 
desolate. The words which, as you see, are 
altered by Harry are not mistakes, but he 
touches up our verses and improves them 
before they are read over by Butler. 

One unpleasant thing comes from the 
building of this new school. The racket 
ground is completely spoilt, and there is now 
only one place for playing, which is always 
* The next letter refers to this book. 
C 



18 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



occupied by the boys of the first class. They 
have a right to turn all below them out of 
it, so that I get very little playing, although 
I prefer it to any game but cricket. 



14. — From his Mother to F. T. 

26 Feb. 1821. 
I am extremely pleased that your capacity 
for writing verses developes itself as it does, 
and meets such constant encouragement. 
Horace is an author from whom you will 
derive more amusement every day, as, to 
understand his satire, it is necessary to know 
the vices and the follies of society, in a way 
which manhood alone can attain. His satire 
is exquisitely keen, and his diction often 
dehghtful, in its pithy elegance. His coarse 
jests on poverty and old women are the faults 
of his time. Religion had not then ennobled 
age, poverty, and woman. I do not suppose 
you can now find any entertainment, except 
perhaps in the occasional beauty and preci- 
sion of his language. You will hereafter be 
amused, not only by his wit and judgment, 
and the insight he gives into the manners 
of his time, but in tracing the modes in 
which he has been imitated — closely, by Boi- 
leau and Pope and Swift — more remotely, 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 19 



by Young, and many others. There is a 
beautiful imitation of the ode in one of 
the books, on the dissatisfaction which every 
man feels with his own profession, as well 
as I remember, by the well known Warren 
Hastings, so long the subject of a trial in 
Westminster Hall"*. 

Thank you for sending me your Latin 
verses. I have translated a few lines, but 
was prevented from going on by a removal 
to Mrs. D — s, who is all friendliness to me 
and mine. 

I send you two short extracts from one 
of C— s letters : 

" The drawings of my three brothers have 
delighted me, and they are all snug in my 
portfolio. I intend to paste them in a book." 

" They sometimes drank punch and played 
whist in my time at Harrow, but, in my 
opinion, shewed no great insight into either 
taste, for I thought their punch as bad as 
their whist — 4 et c'est tout dire pour tous 
deux/ I should tell you, however, that I 
am not a fair judge, as I was early voted 
out of their whist party for going to sleep, 
an invariable consequence of my sitting down 
to cards." 

* On reflection, I think it was a different ode Hastings 
imitated. — Note on the letter, by its writer. 



20 



OKIGINAL LETTERS, 



His never having been able to keep him- 
self awake at cards gave him great advan- 
tages over such of his contemporaries as did — 
in saving time, money, temper — and avoiding 
all those petty disputes which sometimes the 
best humoured can scarcely escape, unless 
their companions are as good humoured as 
themselves. 

Adieu, dearest F — . Thank R — for his 
kind letter. I shall soon reply. You de- 
light me by your frequent communications. 



15. — From the same to the same. 

Berkeely Street, 1821. 

You will be pleased to hear that we ar- 
rived in town on Saturday evening, and are 
therefore so much nearer to you. I have 
had another letter from C — , who is becom- 
ing very anxious to return home and see a 
little of us all. Of course, I am pleased that 
he should share in our desire of meeting, 
but I am also a little alarmed lest his anxiety 
to return should interfere with his advance- 
ment. So you see my difficulties. 

I have been this morning at the ancient 
music, and am so much fatigued that I 
scarcely know what I write. Music, when 
it is fine, and when I listen to it without 



EXTRACTS, ETC. HARROW. 21 

any friend or acquaintance near me, with 
whom I talk occasionally — in short, when I 
give up to it my whole attention — is to me, 
although agreeable at the time, extremely 
fatiguing. I cannot therefore write so much 
as I should like to-day. Your last dear 
letter arrived just as I was leaving the door 
at Elm Lodge, and was a great pleasure to 
me on the road. I am delighted your verses 
are so much approved, and much obliged by 
your recommendation of an interesting au- 
thor. We are now reading Belzoni s account 
of his visit to the Pyramids, catacombs, and 
temples of Egypt ; and of his success in 
bringing away the head of a colossal statue 
of Memnon, and many other antiquities. 
He seems to be one of the most intrepid of 
men. Mrs. Belzoni also is as courageous as 
any of her own sex, and quite as much mis- 
tress of her pistols as of that feminine 
weapon which she can use at least as well 
as any other woman, being a tolerably good 
scold, even by her own account. Altogether 
the book is very entertaining. One sees the 
cloud of years roll away, when one is intro- 
duced to the very spot where Jacob and 
Joseph, Moses and Aaron, suffered and en- 
joyed and influenced the destinies of thou- 
sands. 



22 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



16.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, July ist, 182 1. 
I am afraid C. will not easily be able to get 
lodgings which will exactly suit him, if what 
I have heard of the fulness of town on account 
of the ensuing Coronation is true. One of 
our fellows tells me that his father was obliged 
to go to Hampstead, having in vain endea- 
voured to accommodate himself with lodgings 
in town. An instance of the sums people will 
give to see things that may probably happen 
but once in their respective lives, was men- 
tioned in the paper a few days ago. The 
front of one small house by which the pro- 
cession passes, was said to have been let for 
the day for a thousand guineas. But perhaps 
this is nothing more than a newspaper " asto- 
nisher." We know that five guineas is given 
for a seat, which is just ten times as much 
as it was at the last coronation. During the 
reign of Henry the Ylllth, according to some 
old records, the price of a seat was a " dandy- 
pratt" — the smallest passing coin of the 
realm. 

There will be three prize poems recited next 
speech-day — two by a boy named "Isaac" Wil- 
liams, of great poetical talents, and one by 
Dallas in long verse, or hexameters, a more 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 23 

scholarlike definition. They have instituted 
two Latin instead of a Latin and English 
poem, which last I think they might have 
left We had for our subject for verses a short 
time ago that canto of the Lady of the Lake, 
in which the life of Brian, the seer, is described, 
and his curse upon aH those who refuse to 
follow the arms of their country is pronounced 
after the sacrifice of a goat. The trial for 
our places in the fifth form will come on next 
week in Homer and Lucan, and I hope to 
keep my place, but I have not any hope or 
even wish to get above Thornton, the head of 
our class or form, as we call it. Others might 
be tempted to quote " Sour grapes," but you 
will believe me when I say I should not wish 
it, as I like him so much, and he is such a 
friend of mine. I have been employed the 
greatest part of this quarter, in reading and 
looking over the Grecian and Roman history 
and antiquities, which are advantageous in 
trial, and this, together with cricket, in which 
I am determined not to fall back, as I think 
it such a dehghtful game, has kept me so 
agreeably busy, that I have not been able to 
read Hume's twelve volumes as I intended. 
But I hope to do so next quarter, when I am 
in the fifth form. It is a very idle place to 



24 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 

some, but I hope it will not have that effect 
on me. 



17. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, Nov. 5th, 182 1. 

Pray do you approve of the subscription 
for sir Robert Wilson % Do you tMnk he de- 
serves it \ I saw three or four 500 guineas 
subscription. In John Bull, which I told you 
some fellows here take in, they search out 
every possible thing to depreciate the cha- 
racters, and vilify the subscriptions of those 
who take a part in rewarding him. It says 
that Mr. Lambton, who gave £500, owes a far 
larger sum to sir Robert, which it would not 
be at all convenient for him to pay at present. 

John Bull says that Mr. , who gives a 

thousand pounds to his poor constituents, 
has at present a son in the greatest distress, 
in relieving whom a far smaller sum would 
go a great way. Have these stories, which 
are very numerous in party papers, any foun- 
dation \ 



18. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, January 29th, 1822. 

I have lately examined and extracted a 
good deal from Dibdins Introduction to the 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 



25 



Classics about the best editions of the various 
authors, and found it very interesting, My 
little tablet, which I bought at the shop, 
answers for it very well, and I should be 
much obliged if, when you have an oppor- 
tunity of sending my Terence, which was at 
Fletcher s to be bound, you would send me 
another, as I can get nothing like it here. 
My intention is, whenever I find any thing 
worth knowing about books, to copy it into 
one tablet in pencil, and then, after having 
corrected and arranged my extracts, to copy 
them in ink in my other. I have already a 
quarter filled mine with extracts from Dibdin 
and other bibliographical writers. It would 
give me great pleasure and satisfaction if you 
would lend me your copy of De Bure s Biblio- 
graphic Instructive. It is a book upon which 
all bibliography seems now to rest, and 
Dibdin praises it for variety and pleasantry — 
rather difficult, I should fancy, to be attained 
in a descriptive Catalogue of Editions. 

In the Cork Paper of the 19th instant it is 
mentioned, that a party of the mihtia, having 
seized a still and its owner, were surrounded 
and pelted by the peasants, who endeavoured 
to rescue the prisoner. The militia declared 
that unless they desisted, they would shoot 
their prisoner. Their opponents continued 



26 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the attack, and they put their strong, and, I 
should think, highly illegal threat into execu- 
tion. I should like you to inform me whether 
this is allowed by law. The man had sur- 
rendered himself quietly. At the request of 
W — I have agreed to take in John Bull for a 
quarter. It is sometimes very clever and 
amusing. I see hi it a very comical account 
of a Norfolk agricultural meeting, to consider 
about agricultural distress. There is a Mr. 
Thurtell, who abuses Lord Castlereagh in most 
fierce style. Lord Suffield observed that peo- 
ple's sight got clearer as their pockets grew 
lighter — but from some of his lordship's ob- 
servations and arguments, John Bull infers 
that his lordship s pocket might be supposed 
to be still pretty heavy. I shall soon have to 
occupy myself about my trial. In Greek we 
shall be examined hi Xenophons account of 
the life and actions of Agesilaus. Our Latin 
business is the account, which you will find hi 
Lucretius, of a plague which ravaged and de- 
solated Athens and the Athenian territory. 
However, it is a very disagreeable narrative — 
so medical, such a close description of all that 
is most repulsive, &c. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 27 



19. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, 1822. 
Last night I finished my verses on print- 
ing, and sent them in to Dr. Butler — rather 
late ; but, however, I believe he will receive 
them. Nevertheless, I do not give myself 
the smallest hopes of success, as all the most 
forward and clever boys have written on this, 
at least in the sixth form. There are eighteen 
poems sent for approbation, at least so I con- 
jecture — seven on printing — five on the dis- 
tress hi Ireland — and six on modern Greece. 
However, it is advantageous to have tried 
once ; it brings you into tuning for future 
competition, &c, and the exercise itself is 
improving during the time the other regular 
ones are excused for speech-day, &c. Various 
are the mottos assumed. They are generally 
attempts at wit about composition and con- 
tests, such as, " Operosa parvus Carmina 
fingo " — Hot. " Sed mea delectant mala 
me" — Do. " Si quantum cupiam, possim 
quoque" — Do., &c. &c. 



20.— From the same to the same. 

Harrow, 1822. 

I was very much amused by being told 
to-day that Harry's most valuable book had 



28 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



scarcely been opened, and that it is now " un- 
cut" — that is, just as it was bound up, as 
to the sheets, and not a single bolt (the 
word for where the leaves are divided) is se- 
parated. He is rather hard upon posterity ; 
for in the beginning of the book he has de- 
clared that he hopes nobody will conveniently 
make himself acquainted with its contents. 

Would you be so good as to ransack your 
memory a little, and try if you can give me 
any very witty thing upon ministers when 
they are in place, in the style of these two 
lines by an enemy of the Whigs — 

" As bees that light on flowers cease to hum, 
So Whigs that light on places soon are dumb." 

A fellow here quotes them, and maintains 
that there were never any so witty written 
against them. 



21. — From the same to the same. 

March 22, 1822. 

I send you two anecdotes, which I have 
lately heard, and which I think will amuse 
you. One is, that Lord Sandwich, having the 
appointment of a chorister to Trinity College, 
Cambridge, sent one who had little or no 
voice, but another important qualification — 
viz., a vote hi Hiintmgdonshire. On being 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 29 



charged with inability to sing, he answered, 
" Gentlemen, my voice is in another county." 

Another. — A man, who called at the Heralds' 
College, and was very anxious that an old 
pedigree should be made out for him, could 
not by any possibility squeeze out any re- 
markable deed done by any one of his an- 
cestry. After some consideration however, he 
remembered that one of his forefathers had 
been in prison in Ludgate, but had escaped 
by a rope fixed to King Lud's image. " Oh ! 
that will do very well," said the examining 
herald ; " Lineally descended from King Lud. 
That will do very well indeed, sir." 



22. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, Jan. 21, 1823. 

As I was in the middle of a crabbed and 
tough passage of Greek tragedy last night, I 
was saluted with the voice of the servant at 
the door, saying " Mr. T — , a parcel." The 
word " parcel" happened to bring up old Twy- 
ford remembrances of sundry good things 
— chickens, apples, jams, &c, but "Yamen's 
face grew blanker and blanker" when a small 
roll of flannel appeared, and put all such an- 
ticipations to flight. However, I am much 
obliged to you, and hope that this extremely 



30 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



soft weather will dissipate any little anxiety of 
yours about the accommodations here. I wear 
a flannel waistcoat : I use worsted stockings : 
I have four blankets : I have a carpet to my 
study : I have a curtain which lets down over 
my door in the study : if any cold weather 
comes on, I shall order a chimney-board ! ! ! 
Pretty well. Among other things, I have as 
yet been constant to a little plan of mine, and 
intend to be so ; which is, to do a few things 
regularly every day, which I shall mention to 
you. The first is, to follow your directions 
with regard to the most important duty — to 
read some portion of ancient history in Eng- 
lish — to spend about an hour either on Greek 
plays (which, by the bye, give me far more gra- 
tification than anything else classical) or He- 
rodotus : and to learn thirty lines of Juvenal 
daily, which another boy and myself repeat 
to one another every evening. If there is 
anything else you would wish to be done, 
pray tell me, as, whatever you recommend 
would, I am sure, be of more advantage than 
what I could think of myself. 

On Friday evening I sat for an hour with 

. He was so friendly as to lament my 

gohig to Oxford, adding, that he cannot alter 
his destination now, but if he had known this 
at midsummer, he would have gone there 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 31 

also, as lie then had his choice, which was 
fixed by him for Cambridge. The other day 
I had a long talk with W — , who is tho- 
roughly acquainted with all that goes on at 
Cambridge. Among other things, he told me 
that there is a young man there who has 
already given great promise of eloquence, and 
has very much distinguished himself in that 
way. Mr. Brougham heard of this, took 
some interest in him, and wrote a long paper 
to his father, containing rules for public elo- 
quence, with an account of the method by 
which he himself had arrived at such success. 
Brougham says that the trouble and labour 
which he took was very great — that he read 
the Greek and Latin orators with the most 
constant attention, particularly Demosthenes, 
from whom some part of his speeches were 
almost translations — that he transcribed the 
speech on the Queens trial twenty-seven 
times, &c. Brougham states that, when a 
young man, he found himself in great want 
of a little systematic instruction on the prin- 
ciples of elocution by one who had practised 
it himself, such as he sent to this young 
man s father. 

He told me also that Bloomfield*, the great 
Greek scholar, is a young, industrious, quick- 
* The late Bishop of London. 



32 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



sighted, active man, and by no means a pedant. 
He receives a considerable income as Dean 
of St. Paul's, and expects a bishoprick. I 
was curious to know what kind of man he 
was, and I think W — gave his character 
very accurately. He also told me of the 
method in which his cousin, a very clever 
young man, reads, when in full work. He 
gets up at five o'clock, reads till six ; goes 
to chapel, and has breakfast over by eight ; 
reads till three ; takes a run, and has dinner 
over by five ; reads till seven ; has tea, and a 
little rest till eight ; studies till four the next 
morning ; sleeps one hour ! ! ! This, as you 
may conceive, will scarcely last long. 



23. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, Feb. 1 8, 1823. 
It seems that we must have a rupture 
either with Spain or with France and her 
allies. The newspaper is now very interest- 
ing. What a curious business it is about 
Lord Portsmouth, but I don't quite under- 
stand that case. I cut out of the paper the 
other day the first legal notice of the prosecu- 
tion of Mr. O'Meara by Sir Hudson Lowe. I 
heard a boy here say that the public cha- 
racters he should like to see most severely 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 33 



punished were — ist, the editor of , for 

telling so many lies ; 2ndly, the duke of 

, for voting against the queen, having 

heard the accusation without the defence ; 
3rdly, sir Hudson Lowe, for bullying Buona- 
parte. 

I have this morning finished the last vo- 
lume of Johnson's Life, by Boswell, and am 
going to begin that of Philip the Second, by 
Watson. It was recommended to me by R. 
Martin *, a fellow in my remove, who is a 
friend of mine, and works very hard. If there 
is any author you or papa would wish me 
particularly to read, pray tell me, as I find I 
can make a good deal of spare time. I, I, I, 
but you have told us often that egotism is 
most acceptable to you from your sons, and 
we obey accordingly. There is my excuse. 
Three sons of Mr. Peter Latouche came to 
Harrow last week. They all seem very 
pleasant fellows. It was odd that the next 
day another fraternal triplet should arrive 
at Mr. Batten's, in the shape of three sons of 
Mr. Childe, who stood lately for Shropshire. 

In the last ' Edinburgh Review' you were 
very much interested by the papers on the 

* Brother, I believe, of the present member for Tewkes- 
bury. He was afterwards at New College, Oxford, and 
died early, much beloved and regretted. 

D 



34 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



bishop of Peterborough, and other matters 
about the clergy. I saw this morning, lying 
on the table of Mr. EadclhTe (Bawdons* 
private tutor), "An address to Francis Jeffery, 
the reputed conductor of the ' Edinburgh/ n 
on certain papers in that journal which re- 
ferred to the same topics. Perhaps it would 
be interesting to you. 



26. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, Feb. 1823. 
We have had wonderfully cold weather 
here. The last day of snow on the ground 
all the junior Harrow fellows were busily em- 
ployed in making snowballs, in preparation for 
a grand engagement, in the way of pelting one 
another, between the upper and lower part of 
the town. The whole thing is great fun, and 
has the pleasure of a little danger in it, as the 
snowballs are dipped in water to freeze, and 
become as hard as iron. Unfortunately, dur- 
ing the previous evening, some skirmishing 
took place, and one of the boys got a black 
eye. Butler found out what was going on, 
and being always very much afraid of any 
accidents, and timid for the boys, he was de- 
termined to put a stop to it. So he stormed 

* Afterwards marquis of Hastings. At this time lie was 
at Mrs. Leith's. Died Jan. 1844. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 35 

and destroyed all the magazines of ammuni- 
tion in the town. However, he expressed 
his regret for spoiling the sport, and owned 
it would have annoyed him very much when 
he was a boy. He has generally something 
kind to say on these occasions. 

25. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, June 15, 1823. 
I have now to offer you a strong induce- 
ment for coming down next speech-day. 
Butler has just given out the prize-poems, 
and I am fortunate enough to have got the 
only one I tried for, viz. the Alcaics on Spain. 
I thought it as well to try, but neither I nor 
any one else thought I had the most remote 
chance ; and with very good reason, as, among 
many others, Merivale *, the boy who got two 
prize-poems last year (one of which was Al- 
caics), tried for them this time also, and they 
were very much admired by the boys. I 
can't conceive why Butler preferred mine, but, 
as you may suppose, I am much gratified by 
this unexpected success. You know the form 
of speaking them ; and I shall have a handsome 
book given me. Merivale got the Greek, and 
a boy in our house, named Shepherd, the 

* Herman Merivale, esq., now and for many years past 
Under Secretary for the Colonies, 1 861. 

D 2 



36 ORIGINAL LETTEBS, 

long verses, upon Lazarus. Que is the head, 
the other the third boy in the school. I am 
truly glad to be able to send you this account, 
which wfll please you so much, Mrs. Leith 



was much delighted when she was told that 
two boys in her house had got prizes, and 

expressed her satisfaction that we could do 
something in this way, besides beating the 
school at cricket, as we did not long ago, 

I have just been with Harry, who has been 
correcting my prize Alcaics, and they wfll 
receive the una! inspection of Dr. Butler 
to-morrow. Harry was very much pleased, 
although rather wondering at my succeeding 
against his nephew, who got them last year, 
ani ::' Le l.:,5 s"ii :-, great and well- 

deserved estimation. 

It has been given out in church, that on 
next Saturday sen night, a Confirmation will 
take place here by the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury, and I should think I could not have a 
better opportunity. Will you direct me what 
to do 1 A good many boys wfll be connrmed, 
and Dr. B utler is very diligent in preparing 
tlrr_ fir ii. 



27. — From the mme to the 

Harrow. Soiiday. OdL irtfc, 1833. 
I 1'r.iTT L;ri L-r:e:L-.ilLe ..al sail 



EXTEACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 



37 



about Oriel College, and he observed that 
Coplestone had made the same observation 
to him. Harry's expression to me was, 
" Lord Spencer s the man, if you can get at 
him." Oriel is certainly more difficult to get 
a place in than any other of the colleges at 
Oxford. Perhaps Lord Clifden would ask Lord 
Spencer to say something for me*. I heard 
the other day that when applied to for old 
Merivale, Coplestone said he would be glad 
to have him there. But I have no claims 
like his. We reckon him by far the cleverest 
fellow here. In the last letter you sent me 
there was a paragraph running thus : " Try 

to persuade to study, in order to make 

up for not being highly gifted." I tried to 
make out for half an hour who this was, but 
could not, and was obliged to guess at the 
"unknown" individual. At last it occurred 
to me that it could be nobody else but — — 
or • b u t ? after a little thought, I con- 
sidered that it would not apply to either, as 

has very good abilities indeed, is sixth 

in his remove, and deserves to be higher : 

* This refers to some endeavours then in progress to 
obtain admission for the editor into Oriel College, which 
at that time was very difficult, and required a combination 
of measures to bring it about. Those adopted were finally 
successful. 



38 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



nor, on the other hand, would it apply to , 

as he is already very industrious, and takes 
so much pains to get on, that any advice 
from me would only be 4 coals to Newcastle/ 
I am, therefore, still left in perplexity. If 
you do not refer to either of those whom I 
have mentioned, pray enlighten me a little 
more on the subject, and, if there is oppor- 
tunity, I will do what you wish, and what / 
can. 



28. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, Tuesday, 12 Nov. 1823. 
" R — and I had some curiosity, from hav- 
ing heard so much about it, to see the scene 
of the late horrid murder * ; and accordingly 
the other day, with R — and the other two 
head boys in our house I went to Mrs. Leith 
to ask her to sign our names at the roll call, 
telling her where we intended to go. She 
kindly gave us permission ; and we set off 
about twelve, saw what was to be seen, and 
came back before six o'clock. The place is 
just adapted for a scene of lonely villainy and 
murder, and the deep hollow lanes, in one of 
which poor Wear was shot, only gave too 



* That of Mr. Wear by Thurtell in Hertfordshire. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 39 

easy an opportunity for this fearful act of 
wickedness. 

I have just been talking with Herman 
Merivale, who returned from Oriel College 
last night. He had gone there to be ex- 
amined, and says that Coplestone seemed to 
expect him to know everything. He made 
him construe Herodotus, Thucydides, and 
iEschylus, Tacitus and Livy, in parts which 
he had not opened : examined him in history, 
chronology, and divinity, and told him he ex- 
pected him to have some knowledge of ma- 
thematics and the use of the globes. This 
is sharp work, but still I very much hope to 
be able to get through, and trust that he 
will let me off a little easier. Some of our 
fellows have in some degree taken fright at 
this bill of fare, and I don t wonder at it. 



29. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, March 28, 1824. 
I heard on my return of our having lost 
two of our governors, Lord Clarendon and 
Mr. Page. Lord C. was much attached to 
the school, and always shewed great interest 
in it. We shall miss on speech-days his 
venerable old figure and not less venerable 
post-chaise, the only one of the kind still 



40 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



visible in these parts, as a private carriage. 
We had a set of lyrics to do on their death, 
which I shall bring home with me, that you 
may see how I have introduced some of your 
thoughts in your poem on the first stone — 

While History, in lucid garb arrayed, 

The brilliant page of Clarendon displayed, &c. 

They have not been looked over yet. Dr. 
Butler preached a sermon this morning, allud- 
ing to the same subject, although he is very 
ill and worn out with sickness and fatigue. 
Sir H. Halford saw him the other day, and 
said that he ought not to go out of his room 
for a week ; but the very next day he was up 

at every school-time. Not so our friend , 

who takes many opportunities of staying out, 
from fits of gout, heavy colds, and various 
other ailments. How eccentric he is ! How 
full of ability, yet how strange in his pro- 
ceedings, even as apparent to us boys ! 

For the two or three last nights Butler 
has been much annoyed by having his win- 
dows broke, and every boy who has any sense 
must be angry at it. There was a regular 
smash last night, and the monitors cannot 
prevent it entirely, although they may in 
some degree. They kept a sharp look out 
last night, and we caught two or three cul- 
prits, who were well licked. No pretext has 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 41 



been given for this outrage. The same thing 
occurred some years ago, when he made fifty 
boys lose trial, and some perhaps undeserv- 
edly. The other day he treated a boy very 
leniently : it was a case of decided intoxi- 
cation, and we thought that he would have 
been expelled, but he has only been turned 
down two removes, and there will stay. 
Dr. B. said there was no precedent of such 
a thing having occurred for forty years, when 
the offender was immediately expelled. 



30. — From the same to the same. 

Harrow, May 4th, 1824. 

If you have not observed in the 6 Morning 
Chronicle ' of yesterday the notice of our 
speeches having been put off for a week, I 
can make you certain about the matter. It 
was in vain for Butler to try to get them 
ready for this Thursday. It was a good thing 
for me, no doubt, as my tedious hoarseness is 
rather worse than when I left home. Yester- 
day was so wet that I " staid out * " but I 
managed to do sixty verses, and learn a satire 
of Persius — a sort of work which I certainly 
could not do with much satisfaction at home, 
yet it came naturally enough directly I got into 

* The Harrow phrase for absence from school on ac- 
count of ailment, answering to the collegiate "seger." 



42 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the old Harrow atmosphere. It is not quite 
fair to chatter about myself before I tell you 
about P — , our young recruit, but I am sure 
that you will be pleased, when I inform you 
he is placed on the undershell ; not only likes, 
but enjoys the place, fellows, and maniere 
d'etre; and separates some of his spare time 
for Greek Grammar, Virgil, &c. He was 
frightened with a sharp imposition put on him 
the other day for not answering some ques- 
tion ; but it was soon excused. These sort 
of ebullitions are not uncommon. During the 
first week that I was under the same ruler, 
I was somewhat terrified by being ordered 
to write out thirty pages of Guthrie, (did you 
ever see the book V) for not knowing the name 
of the general who commanded the Austrian s 
at the battle of Ulm. "Why, sir," said our 
friend, " it was in every newspaper." As well 
as I recollect my dates, the battle took place 
about a year before I was born. But the task, 
as you may suppose, was speedily forgiven, 
and in the kindest way. 

I pass as much time as I can during the 
warm weather under the beautiful lime trees 
which surround our churchyard. From the 
form of the ground we can either get shelter 
from the wind, or receive the benefit of a re- 
freshing breeze, just as we like ; and the view 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HARROW. 43 



of all sides, east, west, north and south, is very 
commanding. You know that we are close to 
it, and it is always perfectly quiet. There is 
a very foolish joke of threatening the younger 
boys with a command, under all sorts of penal- 
ties, to go round the churchyard by them- 
selves at night. Not that this is ever done or 
enforced, but the very threat is no joke to 
some boys. 

31.— From his Mother to F. T. 

June, 1824. 

Thank you, dearest F., for the happiness 
given to your father and myself through your 
renewed and double success in gaining the 
two Harrow prize poems this year'". 



32.— From F. T. to his Mother. 

Harrow, July 22nd, 1824. 
We had a grand cricket-match on last Sa- 
turday, and some excellent players from the 
Mary-le-bone Club played us, among whom 
was Ward. He bet 10I. upon us against the 
Etonians. He gives up a great deal of his 
time, thoughts, and money, to the game, and 

* The remainder of this and one or two other communi- 
cations of the same time, have personal matters so inter- 
twined with the classic and the literary parts, that the 
editor feels obliged to omit them. 



44 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



did a very handsome thing last year, when 
we were thinking of playing the Winchester 
boys. Above half of their eleven was to be 
taken from the college, and in consideration 
of the boys not being generally rich, he offered 
to pay the expense of their coming to town, 
and to keep them in his house above a week 
previous to playing. He was a Winchester 
man himself. 

I am very glad that you still prefer Har- 
row to Eton. I have really found mine a 
most dehghtful school, and I really think that 
the general conduct and character of the boys 
is as good as can be expected at any school. 
People say we are always throwing stones, 
and some one has put this in print ; but I 
say, that whosoever noted it was only like 
the traveller whose innkeeper squinted, and 
who therefore observed in his note -book, 
that every body in that part of the country 
had a cast in his eye. You may tell them that 
our fellows do it a little more than they ought 
from their ardent love of Homer, who is al- 
ways talking of his heroes heaving the x 6 / /*" - 
Siov or millstone at one another. People need 
not "throw stones" at us, in another sense, on 
account of our activity in this way. 

We are many of us now very busy about 
verses, and not less about cricket. I shall do 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — 'HARROW. 45 



what I can towards an English Farewell exer- 
cise ; but I fear it will be very poor. How- 
ever, many bad articles of the kind make their 
appearance, and I must do my best. 

We leave Harrow on Tuesday the 27 th of 
this month, and play the Etonians on Friday 
the 30th. We feel much obliged to my father 
for the kind interest which he takes in our 
match. It is very likely that I shall have to 
bowl. 

33. — From the same to the same. 

26 July, 1824. 

I send you my attempt at a Farewell, and 
if you are pleased with it and approve, it will 
be an ample return, not only for any little 
labour which I have spent on these verses, 
but also an encouragement under the sense of 
my inability to compose English rhymes at all 
as I could wish. I think the Italians have a 
proverb, " Paga lei, paga il mondo." If they 
satisfy you, it will be to me according to this 
saying. 

Farewell to Harrow. 
If days with ancient lore entwin'd, 

Or spent in sportive ring — 
If nights, from which the buoyant mind 

Sprang forth on morning wing — 
Can clain a thought, an inward sigh, 
Arouse my untaught minstrelsy, 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Or ope the teeming breast ; 
Affection whispers to my ear — 
u To Harrow be the song — the tear, 

The true farewell addrest." 

I leave thee — as a friend whose home 

Is 'neath the dreary sward ; 
Nay more — for though thou liv'st, thy dome 

To me henceforth is barr'd — 
The sprightly bands still climb thy hill 
Thy halls with busy murmurs fill, 

And court the willing spell — 
Tho' scarce I've run my boyish race, 
Nought in my mind can fill their place, 

Of all that hope can tell. 

Oft have I stood beneath this wall* 

And heard the howling storm, 
When age had hung a gloomy pall 

Around its sacred form. 
I saw the stone imbedded lie, 
From whence renewed it cleaves the sky, 

Endow'd with youth again. 
Here while the Latian echoes ring 
Rome's wand'ring genius rests his wing, 

Allur'd by antique strain. 

Ah ! would that all the charms could feel 

"Which dwell around thy seat ! — 
There are, whose joy it is to steal 

The gall from blossoms sweet. 
It pleases me to breathe the gale 
Which uneorrupted friends inhale, 

* The old school, recently adorned with the buildings 
the new speech room. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. HARROW. 47 



The same pursuits to lead : 
I love to meet the contest light 
In study's toil, or fancy's flight, 

Or sports along the mead. 

To me among the churchyard glades 

Unnumber'd phantoms rise ; 
They're peopled with a thousand shades 

In dim unearthly guise : 
The studious youth * 3 whose honied tongue 
Pour'd forth his Eastern lore among 

The sages of the earth : 
The form of Sheridan appears, 
While wreathed smiles and heartfelt cheers 

Attend the child of mirth. 

The bard f is gone, whose funeral knell 

Sounds deep in many a breast. 
The thrilling pang what tongue can tell 

O'er such by death oppress'cl. 
Beneath this bough-twined canopy 
He gazed upon the angry sky, 

Or evening's melting ray. 
Oh ! may some Phoenix from his pile 
Arise, and o'er th' admiring isle 

Its proud ascent display. 

The dreams which played around my heart 

Now take their passing flight, 
The open paths of life impart 

No pleasure to my sight. 
The friends of youth may meet — and yet 
They cannot meet — as they have met 

* Sir W. Jones, educated at Harrow. f Byron. Died 
April 1824, shortly before these lines were written. 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Beneath this happy sky ; 
For half the world I would not know 
What tides of misery may flow 

Around them ; ere they die. 

For some may rise, and hold a front 

For envy's fatal blow ; 
And some may feed in cheerless want 

The living lamp of woe. 
While some, who now sweet converse share, 
Shall flit like bubbles through the air, 

On varied stations thrown : 
And as new thoughts and labours rise 
Shall learn their comrades to despise, 

And be to them unknown. 

But may contempt, with all her train 

Light swiftly on my head, 
And all such woes, as in the brain 

Ingratitude hath bred, 
If e'er oblivion from my breast 
Tear the fond records of the nest, 

From whence I wing my flight. 
JSTo ! like the letter on the tree, 
Indelible 'twill grow with me 

Through fortunes dull or bright. 

For youthful kindness, oft renew'd, 

If some return I've made, 
Still there is one* — by gratitude 

Alone to be repaid. 
I cannot tell, nor yet conceal 
My thanks to him, whose kindly zeal 



* The Rev. Dr. Butler, head master. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. DUBLIN. 49 



Adopts the untaught boy : 
And as the parent of the mind 
Implants the seed of joys refin'd 

From worldly, base alloy. 

What though between us Alps ascend, 

Though rolls the wat'ry brine ? 
Where'er my wandering course I bend, 

Still, Harrow, I am thine : 
Thine image through the vale of life 
Shall lead me, and with worldly strife 

A tranquil charm entwine. 
Oh may I never thee disgrace, 
Nor draw upon so fair a face 

A tear, for sin of mine ! 



The editor had received an invitation from 
L d . Gosford, the father of one of his earliest 
school friends" 55 ", to accompany him and his son 
on a visit to Ireland, and a very happy jour- 
ney ensued. 

Just as he was setting out, he received the 
following letter. The concluding passage 
shews the writer's extreme care and sensi- 
bility towards her old nurse. 

Si.— From his Mother to F. T. 

August 24, 1824. 
H is at present my secretary to tell 

* The present earl, then viscount Acheson. The friend- 
ship is still the same. 1861. 

E 



50 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



you that I am considerably better to-day, and 
took a tolerable walk before breakfast with- 
out much fatigue. I have mentioned this 
first, as to you it will be the most interesting 
circumstance I can communicate. We have 
seen Penshurst and Siuumer-hill — the first in- 
teresting for its fine oaks and moral beauty, as 
associated with the names of sir Ph. Sidney, 
queen Elizabeth, and so many of the master 
spirits of that age. On seeing Sacharissa s pic- 
ture I was reminded of Mrs. Montague's lively 
remark, "that verse is the true Elysium of 
female vanity," for she is far handsomer in 
Waller s poetry than on canvass, with the 
advantage of immortality : but poet's mis- 
tresses have never been eminent for beauty 
or any other excellency. Lord Byron accounts 
beautifully for this in Child e Harold, or rather 
he puts the common and well known cause — 
" their dressing up whatever they like in the 
bright colours of their own imagination," into 
striking and expressive language. Summer- 
hill is situated in one of the most beautiful 
demesnes I have seen, is fresh as fairy-land, 
and is a liveable, though nearly a magnificent 
house, built in the time of queen Elizabeth. 
It is now gone from the possession of those 
who must have been connected with the 
scenery, and the surrounding inhabitants, by 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — IRELAND. 51 



far other ties than those which can bind any 
new purchaser, however worthy. 

Adieu, dearest F : do not forget my 

commission in Dublin. It is to visit Mrs. 
Cornwell, my dear nurse, and to give her my 

love, and tell her C begs to know what 

she would like for a little guinea keepsake, 
and lay it out for her, when you know her 
choice, and give her a little trifle from me, in 
your own name ; and ask whether her friends 
are kind and attentive to her ; and whether 
we could do anything for her. You will hear 
of her at the National Bank, where her son is 
clerk. Adieu. 



35.— From R T. to his Mother. 

Dublin, August 1824. 

We have travelled very quick, both by sea 
and land. Our passage from Holyhead took 
us only six hours, and I escaped sickness ; 
though among our cousins, the archbishop of 
Tuam and his family, who were on board, 
some suffered much. Our only stoppage, even 
for a few hours, on the land journey, was at 
Cheltenham. Excepting this, we posted straight 
from London to Holyhead, and the open car- 
riage was very pleasant. My first acquaint- 
E 2 



52 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



ance with lord Mandeville *, who makes the 
fourth of our party, was at midnight in the 
kitchen of the inn at Shrewsbury, where he 
joined us, and we have found him a capital 
fellow-traveller. I will tell you a little about 
him, as you have often heard from about 
L d . Gosford, and Acheson is so well known to 
you personally. Lord M. is about twenty-six 
years old, and a sailor by profession ; but not- 
withstanding that, is very fond of horses, 
riding, and farming. He lately married a lady, 
who is a great heiress, the daughter of lady 

Olivia Sparrow, L d . G s sister. He is a 

very religious man, and reads the Bible con- 
stantly. He is a good mechanic, and takes 
great interest in observing and kindly ex- 
plaining to the juniors of the party the va- 
rious works which we meet on our journey. 

The chain-bridge at the Menai Straits looks 
very promising. I cannot say as much of 
the new works at the entrance to Howth 
harbour. They seem a dead failure, and 
might be called a practical Irish bull, as it is 
a harbour into which no vessel, which draws 
any depth of water, can by any possibility 
enter! I have been to-day to see the build- 
ings of Dublin, which are very fine, and I 
much admire the spacious form which the 
* Afterwards duke of Manchester. Died in 1855. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 53 

city presents ; but my survey, as yet, has 
been very incomplete. We go northward to- 
morrow, and from thence I will write as soon 
as I possibly can ; but we have been tra- 
velling so fast since I left you, that I have 
been enabled to do very little as a corre- 
spondent yet. 



36. — From the same to the same. 

Gosford Castle, August 1824. 
We are at present living in part of the old 
family mansion, as the Castle is as yet un- 
finished. It is a fine building, formed of 
granite, brought from a distance of several 
miles. We have much to amuse and interest 
us, and all are in famous good spirits. I rode 

yesterday with L d . M to see a place and 

town of his, not far distant — Tanderagee. 
There is a pleasant dwelling there, belonging 
to lihn, near the town, and a picturesque 
grove with running water flowing and spark- 
ling about. A little anecdote of Irish ways 
may amuse you. When we were posting here, 
the trace of one of the leading horses would 
not stay in its proper place, and was causing 
fuss and stoppage. Somebody called out, in 
fun, to the postboy, " Why don t you put it 
under his leg 1" Soon there was a tremendous 



54 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



bolting and kicking. The boy had abso- 
lutely taken the direction literally, and had 
put it under his leg. " Sure/' was his ex- 
cuse, " I did as your honor bade me." I 
forgot, or rather, I had scarcely time to tell 
you in my last, how much I was delighted 
with the beauty of the Welch mountains. 
You know they were the first which I had 
ever seen. The whole way from Oswestry 
to Bangor was to me most interesting. You, 
who know the road so well, and have such 
an appreciation of grand landscape scenery, 
will readily enter into my feelings on such a 
journey. We stopped at the door of the La- 
dies of Llangollen, whom I believe you know, 
but from some cause or another they were 
unable to see us. Some covers, however, were 
speedily sent down to the carriage for Lord G. 
to frank ; and I believe this is constantly done 
when they hear of any one in or near the 
place who possesses this privilege. They are 
said to have a very wide correspondence ; 
and this appears to support it. I should 
doubt very much whether there was much 
privacy in their lives on such a highway as 
the great Welch road presents for English 
and Irish friends. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 55 

The letters and extracts will for sometime 
refer chiefly to the university of Oxford, of 
which the editor had now become a member. 



37. — From the same to the same. 

Angel, Oxford, Nov. nth, 1824. 
I AM presently going to dine with a friend 
of mine in New College hall. The members 
have the privilege of inviting a stranger, and 
I had a curiosity to be present at one of these 
academic meals. After passing through my 
examinations, which were chiefly in Homer 
and Livy, I was happy to hear Coplestone say, 
" You are now a member of Oriel." However, 
my business is not done yet, as the Vice- 
chancellor, who puts the final stroke in these 
affairs, cannot see me till to-morrow. This 
has been a most unfavourable day, and I have 
therefore not been able to be out much ; but I 
went for a short time to see the examinations 
in the Public School. They were examining 
a young man in divinity, and he answered ad- 
mirably. The examiners sometimes seem de- 
termined to run down their game if they can, 
and there is a separate examiner for each 
science or language. It is a great credit to 
answer well in every respect. Coplestone was 
very goodnatured, and appointed me a College 
Tutor, who recommended me to do some things 



56 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



previous to residing, which I shall certainly 
attend to. He also desired his compliments 
to my father. 

It is not the custom for a "freshman" to 
make any calls upon those residing here, how- 
ever well he may have known them before ; 
hut an old friend has just come here to see 
me, and I must close this letter with saying 
that I am comfortably lodged, and heard no 
row in the night. Some people speak and 
write as if you might expect such things at 
any moment ; e. g. the author of ' Reginald 
Dalton/ which I believe is a mass of exaggera- 
tion from end to end. 

I will send you more particulars to-morrow. 



38. — From the same to the same. 

Angel, Oxford, Nov. 13th, 1824. 

I have only just finished my necessary 
business of matriculation, as the Vice- Chan- 
cellor put me off. Coplestone appomted me 
a public tutor of the name of Dornford, and 
I have heard not a word spoken of the 
need of private tutors. Dornford was for- 
merly hi the army, and was once nearly lost 
on Mont Blanc. Three of the guides in the 
party perished in the catastrophe. 

The oaths which I have taken are these — 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 57 



That I will abhor the damnable doctrines of 
Popery ; that I will touch my cap to the 
Proctors ; and not murmur at receiving cor- 
poral punishment ! Young men did not like 
swearing to this lie, and they have qualified 
it by saying, " if it suits the age of the stu- 
dent." I have passed my time chiefly in the 
rooms of Martin at New College, and dine 
to-day in the public hall at Trinity, and have 
been at two wine parties. 

I shall leave this on Monday morning for 
Chessel. It seems to me that the non-read- 
ing men complain sadly of the want of 
amusement at Oxford. Pigeon-shooting is 
just now in much fashion. Many people say 
that the formality of Oxford is marked and 
disagreeable. At all events one advantage 
seems to arise from it. There is nothing like 
violence or quarrelling. A dispute of this 
kind is almost unheard of, nor indeed is there 
any way of settling such a contingency. 
Fists are out of the question, and duelling 
is never thought of. So some good seems to 
come out of evil, though, I must say, that 
personally to me any thing like formality is 
most objectionable. 



58 



OJRJGINAL LETTERS, 



39. — From the same to the same. 

IA Ashtown's, Chessel, November 1824. 
Mrs. D — dined here the day before yester- 
day. She said that she read an article in the 
' Monthly Magazine/ which she guessed to be 
yours ; but I am sure that it was not your 
style. It was in prose, and purported to be 
a letter sent from a tradesman's daughter on 
a Brighton excursion to a friend in London. 
This lady apes the "blue" or "femme savante" 
and finds out the most scientific names for 
the most common objects. The article is 
clever and satirical enough, but the joke soon 
wearies, and there is not much variety in the 
narrative. 

I was amused by reading in the ' Herald' 
this morning that at the moment the Turkish 
fleet was suffering such a defeat, the Sultan 
was issuing his firman about Turkish ladies' 
dress, and forbidding them to wear embroi- 
dered feredjis. As long as he goes on thus, 
he will be one of the very best friends to 
the Greek cause. 

We are reading Captain Medwins quarto 
in the evening. I need not recommend it to 
any one who has read the full extracts in 
the papers. By those who have not, it will 
be found very entertaining. I am going to 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 59 



follow Coplestones advice in reading here. 
He recommended me to attend much to 
Latin prose composition. Every thing I hear 
of Oriel makes me more glad that I have 
got into it. The appearance of the building 
is but poor, and a great contrast to that of 
Christ Church, which is close opposite. You 
complain of my dormitory being like that of 
a pigeons in the college roof; but we have 
no abode at Oriel of such an ill-omened 
name as " Skeleton corner," which is abso- 
lutely the name given to a certain part of 
the Christ Church domicile. I dined in the 
hall there with lord Clements'* the other day. 
He is a brother of my Harrow friend, and a 
"tuft" — to use a word of academic phrase- 
ology, taken from the gold tassel worn on the 
nobleman's cap. You see at once the origin 
of the expression " tuft hunter," applied to a 
certain not very respectable character, who is 
always seeking people out for their rank, and 
making a fuss about it. 

I am delighted to hear that you are so 
well. This is another sadly wet day, just 
like that so amusingly described in the essay 
on the " Stout gentleman," which you know 
well. Even from this pleasant front all looks 
dark and gloomy ; but the wood at the water 
* Died in 1839, m uch beloved and regretted. 



60 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



side lias not quite lost its autumnal brown, 
and is still very attractive. On the more 
exposed trees there are but few leaves re- 
maining, which 

Hang so light and hang so high 

On the topmost twig that looks up to the sky. 

or, as in the ancient Mariner : 

Brown skeletons of leaves that lag 
The forest-brook along. 



40. — From the same to the same. 

Chessel, Saturday, Nov. 1824. 

I went this morning to call on Mr. . 

He was out, but Mrs. shewed us the 

alterations and various improvements in the 

old mansion. " Mr. " as she says, " has 

taken very good care of himself/' and it is 
quite true, as he has had his room fitted up 
with hot water cocks, a bath, &c, in the 
most complete and attractive style. 

The bishop of Lichfield preaches at Mil- 
brook to-morrow for the girls' charity school 
there. People seem very busy about different 
charities at present in this neighbourhood. 
A meeting for the conversion of the Jews 
takes place in Southampton this week, about 

which I heard a dispute at the ■ s. One 

said she would go to the world s end to bring 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 61 



it about. Her relative declared she would 
not walk across the room for it. Another 
plan at present in hand is a Benefit Society 
upon enlarged principles, about which Mr. 
Fleming interests himself much, and large 
subscriptions have been contributed for it. 
The violent storm is the general talk here, 
and it is no wonder. Every thing seems to 
have suffered by it — ships lost, the contents of 
timber yards all gone astray, chimneys blown 
down, ladies universally frightened up in the 
night ; and, last not least, the fate of our 
magnificent elm at Bursledon. It is lamented 

by people of much taste, such as ; of 

very moderate taste, such as ; and of 

no taste at all, such as . I have not 

yet heard from you about it, or received any 
monody, which it well deserves. 

I am going to write to II to-day, and 

should be glad to know when Harrow breaks 

up, and how you find W going on at 

Blackheath. 

This neighbourhood goes on just as usual, 
but there seems to have been great changes 
in the families, particularly about Southamp- 
ton, which is become quite a watering-place. 
Indeed there is scarcely an house to be let 
there. Many of the gentlemen about here 
have been asked if any thing would tempt 



62 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



them to let their houses, and some have been 
affronted by the proposition. The weather 
has been so bad, that I have as yet scarcely 
been able to see any body, but have received 
many kind invitations, among others from 
sir W. Hoste, that true naval hero and most 
kind man. 

41. — From his Mother to F. T. 

Jan. 25, 1825. 

With regard to society, you may be as- 
sured that you will soon have acquaintances 
enough. The best sense and the highest 
breeding is shewn by being the first to come 
forward. Every one affects to say otherwise, 
but every one of prudence and elevation of 
mind does as I advise you. All the petty 
doubts about it give more importance to the 
matter than it is worth. Where there is edu- 
cation, good conduct, attainments, and posi- 
tion in society, a readiness to form acquaint- 
ance will always confer pleasure on those who 
are worth being pleased. 

42. — From F. T. to his Mother. 

Oriel, February 6th, 1825. 
I AM much obliged to you for sending me 
the paper daily, as I am as yet in no club or 
society. The speeches in parliament occupied 
me some time to-day. They were very in- 



/ 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 63 



teresting, and shewed a great variety of cha- 
racter. There is a Debating Society here, 
which goes on with some eclat and popularity. 
The best performers are Wilberforce*, Mohunt, 
son of lord Stanhope, Torrens J and Wrangham. 
I am acquainted with the three first men- 
tioned, and am going to breakfast with Torrens 
to-morrow. I met him at lord ListowelTs in 
London. He is a clever, entertaining man, 
with much social tact, which, I am told, he 
employs in exercising a sort of leadership 
among a particular set in Christ Church. It 
wants a special kind of talent to do this sort 
of thing any where, or among any people. 
Neither rank, riches, nor ability will ensure 
it — no, not all these together. 

I came under the proctors jurisdiction in 
rather an odd way the other night. As I 
was quietly crossing from my lodgings in the 
High Street towards my college bedroom at 
Oriel, a stout man with a fierce aspect (the 
collegiate name is " bull-dog") ran up, and 
told me that the proctor sent his compliments 
and wished to speak to me.- I turned round, 
and behold, the proctor was a few yards be- 
hind me. He said, " Your name and college, 
sir," adding, " Sir, you have lost your shoe, 

* Now Bp. of Oxford. f The present earl. 

% Died in India in high official life. 



64 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



where did you leave it \ " It was tight, and 
I happened to' have loosed it, and was limp- 
ing along, so that I suppose he thought, from 
my walking lame, that I was intoxicated, or 
had lost my shoe in some row ! Fussy 
enough this ! — but I must not complain, as 
in return for pulling me up he bade me a 
most gracious good night, and absolutely beg- 
ged my pardon for the interruption. I don't 
think this often happens to an undergraduate. 

43. — From his Mother to F. T. 

Feb. 1825. 

We arrived here yesterday, and formed a 

" partie quarree" with lord and lady . 

Nothing can exceed the attention of our kind 
host and hostess to their guests, nor the high 
and remarkable finish of the whole place, house 
and furniture. Alas ! it was for this unusual 
show and perfection in things of this present 
world that the former proprietor sold himself, 
forfeiting competence, honesty, honour, and fin- 
ally life itself, at the shrine of pomp and vanity. 
He was engrossed by an overweening spirit of 
accommodation, for himself and his guests, 
which almost amounts to a vice, unless it is 
balanced by other qualities to keep it in its 
right place. If one looks back on the course 
of past years in the history of such a man, 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 65 



what a great moral lesson is unfolded to us in 
the event of such a life ! 

I agree with you that it is very difficult to 
read the newspapers and records of passing 
events neither too much nor little. These are 
important times. The speeches of sir James 
Mackintosh, Brougham, and Canning have 
been the best*. I will sometimes mark for 
you what is best worth reading in the news- 
papers, to save you time and trouble, and to 
spare you time for your own many studies, 
claiming at the present time all your best 
attention. You will never regret time spent 
on the Greek and Latin classics and regular 
collegiate course, though I also quite approve 
of your lively interest in the events of the 
day. They are history not less than the 
things which are past. I have not made up 
my mind on the formation of the Catholic 
Committee, though quite, and long ago, on 
Catholic Emancipation. 



44. — From R T. to his Mother. 

Oriel, March 25, 1825. 
I mentioned in another letter, that I had 
a chorus from a Greek play to translate for 

* These were specially on the subject of catholic eman- 
cipation. 



66 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



an imposition. It was set merely, as the tutor 
said, to keep up the rules of the college, but 
not for any thing really discreditable ; and he 
paid me the compliment of reading it over at 
the public lecture with much praise. Rather 
an odd sort of imposition or chastisement, and 
well if one has no worse ! It was a very 
beautiful chorus of Sophocles, and I will bring 
you home my translation. 

In lecture room we read Greek Testament 
and Paley's Evidences. Do you know Paley s 
writings % He is very clear — almost mathe- 
matical in style. There is a story about him, 
that although he was a clergyman, his chief 
delight was in attending courts of justice, 
where he could gratify his desire of proof and 
investigation. 



45. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford, May, 1825. 

You will be interested in hearing that my 
name was put 'up the other day for the De- 
bating Society, and I am much pleased at 
having been unanimously elected. To-morrow 
I shall take my seat How grand that would 
sound in the ears of a parliamentary man ! 
Black balls, on these occasions, sometimes fall 
far too thickly to please the unhappy aspirant 




EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 



67 



at the honours of eloquence among his "young 
compeers." 

On Monday last I rode over to see Blen- 
heim, at present in a state of most sad dilapi- 
dation'"". The proprietor leads a strange life. 
His garden is his great delight, and that is in 
a state of high cultivation, though unfortu- 
nately no one is allowed to see it. The park 
and artificial water is beautiful — a kind of 
oasis in the midst of an uninteresting coun- 
try. What a contrast Oxfordshire presents 
to the beautiful coast of Hampshire, and 
specially to our own neighbourhood, with its 
woods, coppices, commons, and intersecting 
waters all combined in such exquisite variety 
and loveliness ! Here also we have a disagree- 
able white, pasty, muddy soil, in exchange for 
the dry, rich-coloured gravel of our roads, drives 
and walks about dear old Bursledon. But we 
cannot have every thing, and the antiquity 
of the neighbourhood — its venerable, stereo- 
typed, unchangeable character has no slight 
charms for me. I had read Uvedale Price's 
work on the Picturesque, which has in it 
many references to the grounds of Blenheim, 
and that gave me a fresh interest in their 
examination. 

* Happy is the contrast now presented on all sides, 
within and without this princely abode. 1861. 

F 2 



68 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



46. — From the same to the same. 

June 12, 1825. 

I find myself now quite settled here, and 
am in the occupation of large, cool, airy rooms 
on the ground floor. Happily, besides my 
bedroom, I have a small apartment looking 
towards the quiet street, and with Corpus 
College opposite. And there I can retire, 
having " sported the oak," as the strange 
phrase is for closing from within the strong, 
massive outer door of our rooms. When par- 
ticularly busy, I am in the inner hold of my 
collegiate fortress, and impenetrable to assaults 
by knocks at the door, and to the still more 
dangerous and attractive interruptions of 
known friendly faces appearing at my quad- 
rangle window. 

47. — From the same to the same. 

At L d . Ashtown's, Chessel, July, 1825. 
The weather is again exceedingly hot — 
good for the harvest — not so for FreehilTs 
turnips, which I saw languishing yesterday. 
The races at Southampton were wretchedly bad. 
The ball in the evening better and tolerably 
cool, being held in that creaking, aquatic 
ball-room, which, according to annual antici- 
pation, is to tumble into the sea, with all its 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 



69 



dancing occupants, at some no distant day. 
The chief objects of interest were lord and 
lady Cochrane, on a visit in this neighbour- 
hood. You know he used to live at Holly 
Hill, near us. I was introduced to them, and 
had a little conversation with lady C — , who 
told me she much hoped to get possession of 
Holly Hill, and live there ; at all events to 
rent, if they could not purchase it. She is 
young, lively, and handsome. He is tall, 
with large marked features, and rather an 
heroic look, of the Scotch type or character, 
rather reserved, and many years older than 
his wife. They came here the other day, and 
I accompanied them over the grounds, which 
they much admired. 

I have dined at Botley Grange. Among 
others, I met sir Wm. Heathcote, and liked 
much the little intercousre I had with him. 
He looks remarkably young, and I should 
have guessed him to be about twenty, but 
he must be several years older, as he has 
been a fellow of All Souls', Oxford, and only 
surrendered it on succeeding to his property. 
He told me that he liked Oxford extremely, 
and much regretted his separation from the 
collegiate circle, to which he was much at- 
tached * 

* His connexion with Oxford has now been again 



70 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Sir W. C — is staying in the house at 
present. He has lived a good deal with his 
Majesty in former times, and with innu- 
merable lord-lieutenants of Ireland. 

I have had an invitation from my friend 
Ralph Carr to visit him in Durham. Would 
there be any objection to my accepting % I 
should Eke to see a little of north country 
life, which is quite unknown to me, and he 
says that a southern is sure to be made 
much of, as a vara avis in those parts. 

Uncle Ashtown has given R — a very good 
contribution for the ' Translator''"", in the 
shape of Metastases Incantation and Re- 
cantation, very accurately and gracefully ren- 
dered into English verse. It is a very pretty 
poem, though its original germ must be 
claimed for our old friend Horace, in his ode, 
" Donee gratus eram tibi," &c, which, as well 
as I recollect (for I have no Horace with me), 
you will find in the second book of his odes. 

I have been doing a little mathematics, but 
my chief employment has been on Cicero's 
orations. How fine they are, bat what ego- 
renewed, by the interesting tie of representing the Uni- 
versity in Parliament. 

* An early undertaking of the present Dean of 
Westminster. Its aim was the monthly publication of 
poems from various languages rendered into English. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 



71 



tism appears at any opportunity of its exhi- 
bition. Not so, I think, with Demosthenes. 
He only speaks of himself when it is neces- 
sary : Cicero, whenever he can find or make 
an occasion. People would now be rather 
astonished if Mr. Canning was to rise night 
after night and assert the claim of a statue 
to himself on account of the happy result of 
his administration. Nor would people much 
approve of Brougham, were he to begin and 
wind up his speeches by thanking God for 
the talents He had given him, in the face 
of parliament, jury, or public assemblage. 

I send an attempt of mine to translate 
Gray s well known Latin Ode, in case it may 
be acceptable as a contribution to the 4 Trans- 
lator/ 

From Gray's Ode written at the Grande Chartreuse. 

Hail, thou fair spirit of this dark abode, 
Whate'er the title that delights thee most : 

For no light honors doth this hoary wood. 

And streams beloved in careless childhood boast. 

Here Power Divine amid these yawning caves, 
These forests loudly howling to the wind, 

These rugged mountains and resounding waves 
Dwells in more awful mystery enshrined, 



72 



OEIGINAL LETTERS, 



Than if an image in refulgent gold 

From Phidias' hand majestically rose — 
Hear me, Spirit 1 In thine arms enfold 
' A youth already panting for repose. 

But if to me such solace be denied — 

If years on years delay such hour of bliss — 

If Fortune toss me on her stormy tide, 
And long detain me in her dark abyss, 

Still grant, Father, that my wearied age 
Sink on the gentle bosom of repose, 

And bear me to some distant hermitage, 

Far from the world's ambition, sin, and woes. 



48 — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, Oct. 13, 1825. 
I have just passed some hours in the 
apartment of the Schools where the Under- 
graduates are examined for their degree. It 
was a tedious business. Plenty of blunders 
and some odd ways among the examiners. 
It is necessary to attend, in order that one 
may know something about the claims on 
one's own knowledge (or ignorance, as it may 
be) in having to undergo the same ordeal 
oneself 

Our friend at Christ Church does not 

seem as yet to have made many acquaint- 
ances. However, many fellows, who seem 
lonely enough at first, afterwards abound 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 73 



with associates : according to the old pro- 
verb, when it rains, it pours. We had a 
meeting of the debating society the night 
before last at Acheson's fine rooms, in one 
of the towers of Christ Church, but it was 
a poor affair. The subject was grand and 
comprehensive enough — perhaps too much 
so — Liberty. It is almost as bad to have 
too much as too little for debate, or, indeed, I 
think, for composition of any kind. You see 
my ready excuse for my fellow-collegians. 
The dons are much to blame for discourag- 
ing us in every way, and compelling us to 
wander here and there for meetings, instead 
of allowing us any fixed abode, which we 
might easily obtain *. Our best speakers are 
lord Mohun, Wortley, and Samuel Wilber- 
force. An opponent imitated and parodied 
the flowing style of the last-mentioned ora- 
tor, some nights ago, in a very entertaining, 
but not very courteous, way. This was going 
a little too far, even for the liberty of debate. 
All the family of Wilberforces inherit from 
their father the utmost facility of speech. It 

* No slight contrast to all this appears now in that 
complete and admirable institution, the " Union," to 
which the editor is now so much indebted, as an old 
member, for the enjoyment of its many and various 
privileges. 



74 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



is hard work enough for some of us to ex- 
press ourselves, even when we may have 
something to say, but with them it is quite 
otherwise. The words come out as it were 
naturally in their " sine intervallis locutio." 

As yet I have not lionized the many ob- 
jects of interest in Oxford — libraries, pictures, 
&c, but will begin when you come. I hope 
it may be soon. There is a great deal to 
see in Oxford which you will delight in. 



49. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel Coll., Nov. 1825. 
The dean has put me into Aristotle, whose 
system of morality people have begun of late 
to abuse vehemently ; but really part of it is 
very beautiful, and a knowledge of his philo- 
sophy, &c. is reckoned of the greatest conse- 
quence here. It is the rock upon which 
many men split, as of all the classical authors 
he approaches nearest to mathematical argu- 
ment or demonstration, and, as we know well, 
this does not suit everybody. You mention 
that you were anxious to hear of my making 
a real speech ; and in this you were very 
near being gratified, as my question was at 
first chosen by the committee for next Satur- 
day. It was afterwards thrown out by a 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 75 



man, who was not present at the first meet- 
ing, and said the subject was too deep. It 
was whether the " Study of Fiction" tends 
to produce morality and virtue, or the con- 
trary ? It is the custom for the person whose 
subject is chosen to open the debate. It ap- 
pears to me that their general tone of ques- 
tions are too broad and extensive for the 
discussion of two or three hours, to which 
the period is limited, and it is really hopeless 
for us to settle the merits of the Catholic 
question or the policy of England towards 
Spain in such an atom, comparatively speak- 
ing, of time. 

A khid of cholera is much about here at 
present, and very troublesome, but not dan- 
gerous. There is hardly a man of our ac- 
quaintance who has escaped except myself. 
However, I suppose it will soon be my turn. 
It is generally over in the course of the day. 



50. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, Nov. 1825. 

Lady Charleville has given me your kind 
letter, and the copy of the " Translator." It 
looks very nicely printed, contains several 
interesting pieces, and does, I think, great 
credit to K — altogether, as editor of the 



76 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



publication. I am sure that he has taken 
great pains about it, and congratulate him 
on his success. 

Lady C. sent for me from the Star Hotel 
as soon as she arrived, and with her usual 
activity of mind, set out directly on a circuit 
round Oxford, specially to visit the best 
works of art in the place. She was carried 
about every where in her chair just as into 
the parties at London. Her remarks on the 
various objects were all clever of their kind, 
and sometimes mixed up with a good deal 
of humour. She was greatly charmed with 
Chantrey s statue of the late Cyril Jackson, 
dean of Christ Church, in that cathedral. It 
is certainly a most able and remarkable work. 
He is sculptured as sitting in his academical 
robes, and the crackling folds of rich, heavy 
black silk are so cut as to be not less dis- 
tinguishable from the other parts of the dress 
than black from white in a picture. 

The debating society is to meet in my room 
next Saturday, the subject being, " The Lon- 
don University." The liberals like it. The 
others don t. Some say that it will interfere 
with Oxford and Cambridge : others maintain 
this to be all nonsense. We shall see how 
the speeches and votes go. Some of the sup- 
porters of the London University have been 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 77 

indulging in needless flings and kicks against 
the two universities. This is very uncour- 
teous and ungenerous. They might pursue 
their own way without it. But one must 
not return evil for evil, or get spiteful be- 
cause some forget themselves on these mat- 
ters and attack the good, old prosperous in- 
stitutions, with which they have nothing 
whatsoever to do, and have no possible claim 
to interfere merely because the want a new 
one. 

51. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, November 1825. 
As I know you are an admirer of ancient 
literature, and prefer maintaining it, as our 
chief study in early years rather than dilute 
our efforts of youth by a multitude of pur- 
suits, more modern of their kind, at some 
which some are aiming by all sorts of means, 
I will copy out for you here a short passage 
from Coplestone s controversial works. It is 
an answer to the ' Edinburgh Review' on the 
subject before us. " In reply to the frivolous 
impertinence about checking the progress of 
science and keeping us back to the measures 
of the ancients, let it suffice to state that a 
rank fallacy runs through the whole argu- 
ment. The writer confounds the cultivation 



78 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



of literature with the acquisition of science. 
In the former, unless our models be defective, 
the study of those morals will be as beneficial 
now as ever. In the latter, the ancients are 
not made our guides. We study them for 
the facts — the reasonings — the descriptions, 
the characters, and the sentiments — the prin- 
ciples and examples of pure taste which they 
contain. These must ever be what they once 
were, and their relative importance must ever 
remain the same. It is not the discovery of 
neutral salts or the decomposition of alkalis 
that can alter the value of ancient literature 
— that can make eloquence less powerful, 
poetry less charming, historical examples less 
valuable, moral and political reflections less 
instructive. Where then is the wisdom of 
bringing into comparison things which have 
no common points of relation, which are, in 
fact, heterogeneous, and incommensurate with 
each other 1 Whatever may be the advance- 
ment later ages have made in the knowledge 
of the properties of bodies, the temper and 
constitution of the human mind cannot have 
changed, and the writers best adapted to 
make impression there, if we turn not 
stupidly and sullenly away, will perform 
their office now as heretofore. 5 ' I have chosen 
this passage out of others, firstly, because 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 79 

I admire it very much, and next, because I 
think it is not likely that you should have 
met with it. It is taken out of a contro- 
versial pamphlet, which is very severe (I 
give it no stronger appellation, lest the walls 
of Oriel should fall on my head), but very 
much provoked by the enemies of our col- 
leges. I hope soon to send something more 
for the Translator. 

Tracy, of this college, has kindly sent word 
that you and any party of friends might be 
admitted to see his father's beautiful place, 
whenever you like to go. Pray observe the 
stone figures of the men who slew Thomas 
a Becket, carved there in stone. A curious 
remembrance for a family, but, I suppose, 
quite in agreement with heraldic art and 
custom. 



52. — From the same to the same. 

November, 1825. 
I have been rather in a dilemma during 
these last few days, in consequence of having, 
perhaps too hastily, accepted a seat in a new 
debating society, formed of seceders from the 
old one, and I want your advice. The fact is, 
that during the whole term there had been a 
most injurious apathy and spirit of trifling in 
the society at large ; and this was strongly 



80 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



disapproved of by some of the ablest men and 
best speakers. So they formed themselves 
into a private committee, and made a choice 
of about thirty-six men to establish a new in- 
stitution, and altogether quit the old hive or 
community. They introduced my name, and 
at first I was very well pleased, but have 
thought a good deal about it since. I have 
well-founded and serious doubts whether it 
will not give rise to much odium generally in 
the university, and appear a palpable affront 
to the rest of the society. I wish that I could 
see plainly whether it is right to withdraw 
ones name from the seceders, or to cast in 
one's lot with them. The old society deserved 
a h it, but perhaps not such a sharp blow. The 
subject is much talked of, and those who have 
withdrawn are not unnaturally supposed to 
thi iik themselves too good for the old society. 
Besides, some men have been shut out of the 
new one, who do not deserve to have been 
thus dealt with. You see my dilemma, and 
perhaps you will kindly give me your good 
advice. When I speak of the ablest and 
cleverest men, I do not mean that all such 
have joined the new association, but there is 
a preponderance of them in it. All I want is 
to see my way clearly, and then I don't mind 
what one or another may say. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 81 



We have passed an extremely regular and 
steady term. Not a whisper of a row in the 
quad, and few suppers to originate such pro- 
ceedings. 

E. is passing a very quiet life at Christ 
Church with a sexagenarian paternal servant. 
Every thing there also calm, and according 
to the best wishes of disciphnarian dons. 

Our " collections," answering exactly to the 
old Twyford " gatherings," begin to-morrow 
fortnight. I shall have to take up three books 
of Aristotle s Ethics, three plays of iEschylus, 
one book of Thucydides, and two of mathe- 
matics. 

There is altogether a very pleasant set of 
men here in this college. Eton rather pre- 
ponderates over Harrow as to numbers. Among 
those I see most of are Montague Parker and 
Charles Murray'", of Eton, Headf of Win- 
chester, Des Vceux, Barrington, Howard J, of 
my own class at Harrow, Eyre, son of my 
father's old friend, and Welby and Wise of 
Rugby, &c. &c. There is a good deal of variety 
of character among them, with much friendli- 
ness towards one another, and a great deal 
to like. In other colleges I keep up my in- 

* Now ambassador at Dresden, 
t Recently governor of Canada. 
% Now earl of Effingham. 
G 



82 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



tercourse with the old Harrow fellows as 
much as I possibly can. 

Fitzharris *, of our county, son of Lord 
Malmesbury, has been added this term to 
the worshipful community of Oriel. His fa- 
ther, as you know, is a great reader, and, I 
am told, has encouraged him in a taste for 
modern literature, with a view to diplomacy, 
the profession of his grandfather, who was so 
able in that way. 



53. — From the same to the same. 

Chessel, Hants, December 31, 1825. 
May I ask whether my father and R. at- 
tended the anti-slavery meeting, at which sir 
J. Macintosh and Brougham spoke — the latter, 
so far as I can judge, really very much in the 
close style of his favourite Demosthenes. The 
son of the former is at Cambridge, and, I dare 
say, R. knows him. They were friends, as well 
as I can recollect, at Twyford. I shall call, 
when I come to London, on an acquaintance, 
who is staying with Jeremy Bentham, and see 
that hero of the liberals, democrats, radicals, 
or whatever people may be pleased to call 
them. Here they say that the emperor Alex- 

* Present earl, and secretary of state for the foreign de- 
partment in the administration of Lord Derby. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 83 



ander has been murdered instead of being 
allowed to die a natural death, and I must 
tell you two opinions of two following Mon- 
days, given with due authority by a good 
neighbour here. First, in talking about the 
commercial panic, he declared that Cobbett 
was the sole cause of the mischief, and auto- 
crat of the money market. Secondly, that 
Alexander had certainly been murdered, and 
that his murder had been got up by the J ews 
to depress the funds and disturb public credit! 
All his lucubrations seemed to end in the 
stocks, though, as you may suppose, one 
scarcely could see how they could ever reach 
them. I have not been out shooting more 

than once, and then found nothing. Mr. , 

who has a good manor, enquired from H — 
and myself about our sporting. We told him 
we had nothing to shoot. After delaying a 
few moments, as I fondly anticipated with the 
intention of fixing some particular day and 
particular manor for us, he exclaimed, " Can't 
you find any snipes on Southampton com- 
mon'?" I had every inclination to offer him a 
walk over that interesting and game-abound- 
ing tract of country, and was very near being 
impertinent, had it not been for my mute and 
inviolable respect for office, &c. &c. 

There is but little gossip to send you. Old 
G 2 



84 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Mr. is to be married to young Miss 

immediately. The novel ofGranbyis on hand, 
and rather an heavy article. A couple of 
dinner parties have taken place. At the last 
Mr. Weld dined, who has just come from 
a large shooting party at sir Harry Feather- 
stonehaugh s. It came, we heard, to an un- 
timely end, from the duke of Gloucester se- 
verely injuring one of the Walpoles by shoot- 
ing him in the face, before they had been 
out ten minutes. This royal carelessness is no 
joke. It is a point of etiquette, unless the 
damage is very severe, not to inform the high 
personage of the accident !! ! So you have 
not even this consolation — not even royal 
sympathy, when so well deserving it. In fact 
the gentlemen, who are accomplished com- 
panions of his royal highness, pride themselves 
on not even squeaking when peppered by his 
shot. He is very good-natured, and it would 
vex him. I have heard very amusing accounts 
of his jjerformances. He is a very bad shot, 
and so when he fires at a pheasant, a keeper 
immediately calls out, " Well shot, your royal 
highness," and emerges from the coppice with a 
bird in his hand, kept for that purpose in the 
bag at his side. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 85 



54 — From his Mother to F. T. 

Feb. 1826. 

I am reading Moliere to the little party 
around me. His humour, easy gaiety and 
knowledge of the human heart are delightful. 
But one does not fear, love, admire, dislike 
his characters as one does those of Shake- 
spear, to whom, even as a writer of comedy, 
he is very inferior — though I think him second 
to him, as an author, in this way. His repre- 
sentations of one class of characters are very 
perfect, but they want the little marks of 
individuality, which in Shakespear are super- 
added to their general portraiture, and give 
all his dramas such an air of reality and life. 

When Providence gives talents for poetic 
composition, it is power. " Let any one make 
the laws of a country so that I may make its 
songs," said a crafty politician. Our two best 
poets have not made the best use of their 
gifts. Scott has written almost wholly for 
the eye in his poems. His novels are mostly 
of a higher class, as novels, than his verse as 
poetry. Lord Byron always shows a love of 
nature, of liberty and of literature, but he has 
mingled so much gall in his ink, and thrown 
ridicule on much that is sacred. As a love of 
virtue makes some to be attracted even by 



86 



ORIGINAL LETTERS. 



her semblance, and easily duped by hypocrisy, 
so this sentiment inverted in his mind often 
makes his hatred of hypocrisy give him a dis- 
like to virtue. Happy is the man who uses 
the gift of poetry in promoting piety and its 
consequences — peace and goodwill towards 
man ! 

55. — From F. T. to his Mother. 

Feb. 15, 1826. 
The subject for the Xewdigate poem in 
English, and Kmited to fifty lines, is " Trajan's 
Pillar." On its being given out, a neat little 
duodecimo of about a dozen pages annually 
appears, containing all the most important 
facts and illustrations. You see how the 
cramming system is maintained amongst us. 
However, it is useful enough, and we are glad 
enough to use such help. The Pillar seems 
to have been connected with a magnificent 
range of structures, including a Palace, a 
gymnasium, a library, a triumphal arch, por- 
ticoes, kc. — altogether so grand as to cause 
despair in the mind of Constans of surpassing 
or equalling it. 



56. — From the same to the same. 

March, 1826. 

The Scholarship (Lloyd's) was gained by 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 87 

Dodson. General opinion had long before 
marked him out. He was second last year 
to Merivale, and had taken a first class, being 
a man of four years' standing. Very little 
news is to be picked out concerning those 
who fail. I believe that the method adopted 
is to write down judgments on each man's 
performance in each separate head, and then 
to add them up, so as to discover who has 
the most " very goods" spoilt by the fewest 
"bads" or "middlings." To have any chance 
of success, a man must practise composition 
in every way through the whole year, as 
many no doubt will do. Coplestone ex- 
pressed great satisfaction at my having been 
a candidate, and was so far from thinking 
the time lost, he said it could not have been 
better spent. I hope to go in again next 
year, and shall of course make it the object 
in reading. It by no means withdraws a 
man from subjects connected with his final 
degree, but, on the contrary, helps him in 
the midst of them. 

I suppose that the melancholy death to 

which you allude was that of , but your 

informant was mistaken in saying that I was 
at a party in his company during the evening. 
This was a mistake, as I was not, nor had 
ever met him, or even knew him by sight. 



88 



ORIGINAL LETTERS. 



He came to the rooms of a man of this college 
shortly before the accident, and then went 
into the town, where it happened. He had 
always been exceedingly bold on the water 
and on horseback, and never thought* of 
danger, but met his death from this appa- 
rently most trivial cause. It may almost 
remind one of the end of the great African 
traveller, who died at last by falling down 
stairs in his own house, after being exposed 
to all the proverbial perils of the torrid zone. 



57. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford, April 28th, 1826. 

I have been engaged to-day in writing a 
college declamation on the odd subject of 
" ghosts f i. e. whether belief in their exist- 
ence was compatible with a well-regulated 
mind. It was my business to deny it. My 
antagonist was Charles Murray. He strength- 
ened himself by the opinions of Johnson and 
Addison. I was verv bold, and ventured to 
maintain that these opinions were mere flaws 
and eccentricities in those great men. 

We had an excellent and very animated 
debate last night on the abolition of the slave- 



EXTRACTS, ETC* — OXFORD. 89 

trade. It was chiefly carried on among the 
superior speakers. Young Wilberforce took 
a distinguished part, and reprimanded one or 
two members, who had indulged in sneers 
against the motives of the abolitionists and 
the sufferings of the slaves. He did it briefly, 
but in such a manner as to shew that he could 
say more if he chose. Our next question is 
on the "Unpaid magistrates." Something, of 
course, may be made out against them ; but 
after all, is there any better way of trying 
smaller causes 1 In all probability too, the re- 
sponsibilities of station, of property, and free- 
dom from all risk of bribery, more than com- 
pensate for the casual exercise of local in- 
terest, or display of casual ignorance. I should 
much like to hear what you think about it, 
and about the best references on the subject. 

Monsieur A. is the lion of Oxford at this 
moment. I met him at a wine party this very 
evening, but in society he certainly did not 
shine. His chief powers, as he himself con- 
fesses, are grimace and ventriloquism. Being 
a Frenchman, he does not succeed in making 
English puns, or delivering those of others 
with the good grace of Mathews. 

All those who have seen your copy of the 
Bodleian Mary queen of Scots admire it, 
and say that it is fully equal to any that 



90 



ORIGDsAL letters. 



lias been ever done. Indeed it ought to be 
done well, as the copyist is always at it from 
one end of the year to the other. Yours is 
in oils, as large as the original, and in a fac- 
simile frame. I hope soon to forward it. 



58. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford. May 28, 1826. 

The Xewdigate prize has been gained by 
Mr. Tireman, of Wadham. There were one 
hundred and six candidates, so that you may 
conclude Terse-making is not deficient among 
us. whether poetry may be or not. 

I am at present engaged in Aristotle's 
treatise on that subject, viz. poetry, and like 
it very much. He supplies accurate informa- 
tion on the principles of the art : also for its 

introduction on the stage Our 

collections will be over in the course of a 
fortnight, when we leave Oxford for the long 
vacation. The place has been in a state of 
uninterrupted tranquillity during the whole 
of these two terms. Xo riots, expulsions, 
or rustications to excite the outer world, or 
rouse contradictory letters on facts in the 
papers. There were great fears, a few Sun- 
days ago, among the dons, and great hopes 
among us juniors, that Dr. Tatham, the head 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 91 

of Lincoln College, would insist upon his 
right of preaching the University sermon. 
The dons had learnt, by experience, to dread 
him. On the last occasion he gave them a 
thorough scolding for idleness, slavery to 
minute forms, want of all true zeal in the 
cause of religion, &c., &c. He was then in his 
eightieth year. He is now ninety, and boasts 
that he will attack them again before he 
dies. Some said it was all dotage, but the 
language was throughout most effective in 
every way. It made a great sensation here, 
where the usual style of discourse is a minute 
discussion on the various readings of some 
phrase, which is twisted, and turned, and 
criticized abundantly. And then the sermon 
ends, and you leave the church no better 
than you enter, except for a bit of scholar- 
ship, from the sermon. Dr. Shuttleworth s * 
sermon, of this day, was a brilliant exception. 
He is one of the most pious men in Oxford, 
and, at the same time, a man of the most ac- 
complished scholarship and refinement, so that 
he is much liked and valued generally. R — , 
the other day, wrote me a letter on the 
Trinity examination at Cambridge. It seems 
to be upon a very good system. His num- 
bers on the day of classical translation, &c, 
* Afterwards Bishop of Chichester. 



92 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



were very large, and quite proportionate to 
those necessary for the first class. Thornton 
talked of coming down here for a day or two. 
I wrote to him last week, but have not heard 
from him since ; perhaps his mathematical 
duties will detain him, but in case of your 
seeing him in London, whither I know he 
now and then makes a trip, pray encourage 
him to come, and tell him that I will try 
to prove a good showman for all worth 
seeing. 

Oxford now looks very beautiful, from the 
richness of the trees interspersed among the 
buildings, and the avenue in Christ Church 
provides a walk of the most perfect shade 
in the heat. A whisper has been circulated 
that it is the intention of that college to 
appropriate the whole meadow to themselves, 
and exclude all other comers ; but if there 
is any virtue in established custom of some 
hundred years, this must be a mere dream. 

Boat-races go on now twice a- week. They 
are very popular, and are the only trial of 
bodily activity and enterprise which excites 
much enthusiasm. Most of the colleges have 
their long boat, or eight-oar, which starts at 
seven in the evening to row two miles with 
the utmost speed. The men are encouraged 
in their exertions by large bodies of their 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 93 



own particular college, who run along the 
side of the river with loud cheers. And 
really they want encouragement, for the 
labour is very great, and some of the men, 
who really have pluck to exert themselves 
to the utmost are obliged to be carried from 
the boats at the end of the contest, spite of 

all their training I will write 

again hi a day or two. 

59. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford, June i, 1826. 
I send you one of the one hundred and 
seven Newdigate compositions which have 
been rained on the unfortunate Poetry Pro- 
fessor during the week. You will guess the 
author without my acknowledgment. One 
or two allusions are made to different circum- 
stances, which may be a little obscure, viz. to 
that of the Dacian women burning their pri- 
soners, which is so represented upon the 
column. The people too, whom Trajan had 
conquered, were predestinarians, who thought 
the same as the Mahometans of a death 
gained in battle. A remarkable instance also 
of their savage spirit is recorded in Hero- 
dotus, whose words are, " They fire their 
arrows at the thunder and hghtning, mena- 
cing and threatening the god." 



94 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



The Pillar of Trajan. 

Untouched mid thunders of a thousand years, 

Mid Vandal havoc and thy country's tears, 

Though palace, tower, and temple round thee fall, 

Majestic column, thou survivest all ! 

Their crumbling relics Time has borne away — 

Thy sacred marble still reflects the day : 

Still sweep the breezes round thy giant height, 

Still ages only touch thee in their flight. 

And thou shalt prove in centuries yet to come 

What art can do against Oblivion's doom. 

No * idle conquest swelled the joyful note ; 
No tyrant mockery bade the banners float : 
No accents mingled with contempt and fear 
In feigned applause discordant struck the ear, 
"When Rome beheld her cherished Hero's prize 
In lonely grandeur cleave the azure skies. 

Mark well the deeds that on the pillar graved 
Tell soft Italians what their sires have braved. 
Here the dark forest and the crowded glen 
In savage myriads pour the tide of men : 
t Flames blaze aloft : infernal yells arise, 
And female orgies drown their victims' cries. 
There in slow pace the Legions undismayed 
Toss the light crest and grasp the trusty blade — 
From cave or fountain rouse the Dacian brood, 
And scare her champions to the trackless wood : 

* As in the case of Caligula, 

t The Dacian women are represented burning their 
prisoners. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 95 



* What though, by fate undaunted, they descried 
Immortal blessings in the purple tide : 
What though t they raged against the troubled air, 
And dashed their lances at the lightning's glare — 
Such haughty spirits seemed but framed to grace 
And swell the annals of Rome's mighty race. 

Leave scenes of carnage : view the marshall'd band 
In glad procession tread the conquered land : 
While Victory, beaming with celestial ray, 
Graves on her shield a record of the day. 

A noble image once appeared to smile 
O'er his fair country from the stately pile : 
And hath he vanished — he, whose magic name 
Wakes each heroic — each more gentle flame 1 
Yes — though bright honours mantled Trajan's brow, 
A nobler form J is elevated now : 
In vain the gaudy standards were unfurled 
O'er the far confines of the peopled world : 
Yet not in vain the Martyr died to prove 
The boundless treasures of his Maker's love : 
For him let tears of grateful homage flow, 
Whose valiant labours conquered sin and woe ; 
Nor admiration ever cease to scan 
The peaceful Christian in the dauntless man. 

* Gibbon observes upon the Dacians, vol. i. p. 6 : " To 
the strength and fierceness of barbarians they added a con- 
tempt of life, which was derived from a warm persuasion 
of the immortality and transmigration of the soul." 

t The words of Herodotus, in speaking of these people, 
are as follows : Kai irpbs (3povrr)V re Kai d(TTpa7rrjv To^evovres 
avco 7rp6s tov ovpavbv, ajrelXevai ro) Geai. 

X The Pillar is now crowned by the statue of St. Peter. 



96 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



60. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, July 6, 1826. 

What do you think of the subjects for 
the Oxford prize poems for the ensuing year 
— viz., Mexico and Pompeii — the latter for 
English verse, and unlimited as to number 
of lines % This is a great point gained over 
the old hereditary absurdity of limiting the 
number to fifty lines — neither more nor less. 
This was just too long for anything epigram- 
matic, and too short for any poem, suited to 
the subjects which were annually given out. 
There was a constant flow of ridicule against 
this regulation, and those in authority have 
at last yielded the point, with every hope 
that the productions henceforth will be far 
superior. I, for one, most confidently ex- 
pect it. 

I wish there was a prospect of a change in 
another matter. I refer to the treatment of 
the Debating Society. The dons still perse- 
cute, or, at least, discourage us, and will not 
allow us to meet in any room, permanently 
occupied for the purpose of the institution. 
The society affords us inducement to exa- 
mine many questions of history, policy, and 
literature, and leads men to express them- 
selves on such topics ; not a bad thing for 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 97 



them, considering the difficulty in so doing 
which many feel, even when they know very 
well what they have to speak on. The diffi- 
culty lies in telhng it to others. If our 
Society can in any way promote a good ob- 
ject like this, it must do incalculable service, 
and it is all nonsense to say that men's aca- 
demical studies will be interrupted by it. 

Among other invitations which I have re- 
ceived for Christmas is one from Agar Robartes, 
to visit him in Cornwall. The distance is rather 
alarming ; but it is to an old friend, and there 
are copper-mines, woodcocks, a fine old place, 
and curious library of books. I should like 
to see the old romantic Lanhydrock * 

* It is of this place that the interesting article on 
Cornwall, ' Quarterly Review,' No. 204, Art. 1, speaks 
thus : — " Farther in the interior of the county, and out 
of the way of tourists, lies the beautiful and perfectly 
preserved house of Lanhydrock, built by the first Robartes 
Lord Radnor in 1 636-1 641, as the inscriptions testify, 
but wearing a far older appearance ; for, no doubt, novel- 
ties in architecture travelled slowly into the West in those 
times. Cotele has been maintained by reverential care, 
Lanhydrock by a fortunate neglect ; for until the time of 
the present possessor no one seems to have cared to 
meddle with its gray walls or its primitive decorations 
and furniture. It stands almost untouched, as if it had 
been buried alive .since the days of the Puritans, whose 
head-quarters it formed during the campaign of 1644 in 
the civil war. Lord Robartes, its builder, was a stanch 

H 



98 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



61. — From t\e same to the same. 

Oxford, 1 6 October, 1826. 

The greater part of the collegiate bodies 
arrived yesterday, and the streets were 
haunted with a profusion of staring freshmen 
with a kind of puzzled look. Some of them 
were peripatetic proofs that novelty does not 
always constitute felicity — at least so far as 
I could judge from" their looks. Indeed, the 
first few days are not very captivating, un- 
less you are provided with a trusty friend, 
and he must be of your own college to be 

Presbyterian ; and the library collected by himself and 
his chaplain — one Hannibal Gammon — stands on the old 
shelves of the long gallery as if its Roundhead purchasers 
had been using it only yesterday— rare old tomes of scho- 
lastic divinity and philosophy, mingled with the contro- 
versial tracts of the day, and acts and proclamations of 
the Long Parliament uncut from the press — a large part 
seasoned with many a bitter MS. marginal note against 
prelacy and popery. An avenue of old sycamores, now 
decaying, leads from the beautiful insulated portal in front 
of the house across the park. That avenue was planted 
under orders sent by Lord Robartes from London, when 
he had become Conservative, and had been clapped by 
Oliver Cromwell into the Gatehouse, just two centuries 
ago. Except the house of the Pophams at Littlecote 
(where the identical swords and steel caps of Cromwell's 
Ironsides hang round the hall), we know no spot which so 
vividly brings back the memories of the Great Rebellion, 
so peculiarly attractive to the English mind." 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 99 



very serviceable. Otherwise, one is perpetu- 
ally kept in hot water, from the fear of being 
guilty of some un-academical look, word, or 
action. I can't forget appearing in chapel 
the first morning in the magpie apparel of 
black-silk gown over a white great-coat, and 
this without the slightest intention of any 
eccentricity. 

I met uncle and aunt Ashtown on my ride 
down. They were stopping to feed their 
horses in a poor little inn at Ilsley, one of 
those antediluvian villages, which seem to 
have dropped from the clouds into a hole 
or slit of the downs, and never to have been 
thought more about, or have had any one 
of their buildings touched ever since by the 

hand of man. The family of the G s 

passed through Oxford the other day — two 
carriages and several horses — in all their 

usual magnificence. Did you meet F 

in London ? You could have hardly avoided 
meeting in the present depopulation of the 
streets, when, perhaps, there is mobody there 

excepting Mr. W , Mr. A. E , and a 

few others of that species of the human race, 
which seems quite uncomfortable if beyond 
the sound of the twopenny postman's bell. 

Perhaps you would ask my father to be 
so good as to see or inquire whether my 

H 2 



100 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



name is down for the Athenaeum. If not, 
I should much like it. Lord C — - — offered 
to do me this favour last year, but he was 
so unwell, that I am afraid he did not go 
there once during the whole spring. 



62. — From the same to the saws. 

October 30, 1826. 

The day after you left me I was suddenly 
struck with the sense of my stupidity in 
never having been vvdthin the walls of the 
Bodleian Library, which is not two hundred 
yards from my room. When you were here, 
I evaded the confession of this piece of im- 
becility, but now I have two salves for my 
conscience — first, this confession of former 
apathy ; secondly, the fact that I have now 
visited it, and seen something of its various 
contents. 

Besides books, there are a good many pic- 
tures in the gallery, but the collection is by 
no means first-rate. The School of Athens, 
by Julio Romano, represents a gathering of 
Greek philosophers, among whom the com- 
plimentary painter introduces the portraits 
of some of the petty Italian princes of his 
day. Among the most attractive objects are 
models of the most celebrated temples of an- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 101 

tiquity. Among those least attractive is a 
painting of the body of a young lady, repre- 
sented as dug from the grave, and covered 
with worms all busy on her remains. It is 
said that a young and very dissipated lady 
of much beauty was once changed in her 
spirit, and became a religious woman, in con- 
sequence of seeing this hideous picture. 

-The " guilt or innocence of Mary queen 
of Scots" is the subject for the next meeting 
of the debating society. A warm debate is 
sure to ensue between the respective parti- 
zans of her and Elizabeth ; and the two 
ladies, especially the former, are amply pro- 
vided with devoted champions. 

While I was at Cheltenham there was a 
meeting to promote Christianity among the 
Jews, and uncle Ashtown was invited to take 
the chair, but he could not do it. A tur- 
bulent man, of Socinian principles, rose un- 
expectedly and opposed the designs of the 
meeting with much ill -temper and violence, 
but little or no argument. However, it had 
not a bad effect on the collection, which was 
reckoned an extremely good one, viz., £61 10s. 
There were some excellent speeches, and, upon 
the whole, I thought there was more elo- 
quence than at any meeting which I ever 
attended in my life. 



102 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



63. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, JSTov. 1826. 

F has paid me a visit, and only left 

this yesterday. We had a great deal of talk on 
the comparative state of his university and 
this. We were struck with the extreme dif- 
ference in the two systems, pursued at each 
respectively, e. g. as to discipline. At Cam- 
bridge scarcely any pursuit or study seems 
definitely regulated. Here the most trivial 
and special is strictly ruled and marked out. 
There the man of ability is more known and 
tried, while those who are idle and dissipated 
seem to be allowed to follow their own de- 
vices. Here it is quite otherwise. In one 
thing they seem to have an evident advantage 
over us, towards the encouragement of reading 
and study. I refer to the various prizes and 
repeated classifications according to merit going 
on from the earliest to the latest stages of the 
collegiate course. Here there is nothing of 
the kind"". We agreed that the Cambridge 
code of liberty, and the Oxford code of re- 
strictino, might well be intermixed or shaken 
together in a bag. I wish that I shared in 
F — ; s knowledge of French. It seems to have 
given him quite a new source of literary in- 

* All is now different, and this quite of the past. 1861. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 103 

terest. It is no trifle to have the learning of 
that difficult language before one. At present 
I can read it but little, and cannot speak one 
single sentence correctly. 



84. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, Ap. 26. 

My time has been much occupied with se- 
veral lectures and a declamation upon the 
subject of the Greek chorus, to do which 
latter properly would have required far more 
time than I have been able to give to it, as it 
would have repaid one s trouble to have con- 
sulted Mason and Cumberland, but I am 
obliged to content myself with a few pages on 
the subject in the beautiful article upon Milton 
in the Edinburgh, which is much talked of 
and admired here, although written in a style 
quite contrary to the general principles, or 
politics, which prevail in the university. A 
publication most gratifying to their taste ar- 
rived yesterday, and I have been reading the 
second number this morning, e. g. The Repre- 
sentative It appears to me to excel other 
papers in nothing but a few feet more of 
leading article, which lays down colonization 
as the only resource for Ireland. The report 

* It proved a short-lived publication. 



104 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



is, that Mr. Murray has laid out from 10 to 
£15,000 in setting up the paper, and it is ex- 
pected by some to be a great Tory wonder. 

C — s visit was a great pleasure to me, and 
I hope will not preclude another, in case of 
his being inclined to see the various lions — 
such as college gardens, statues, painted glass, 
Arundelian marbles, the various chapels, Christ 
Church hall and kitchen, Mary queen of Scots' 
portrait, &c. &c. Here is a medley %£ sights, 
but I have not mentioned a tithe. Oxford is 
very rich in this way. 

We are losing our junior tutor, Mr. Jelf, 
a man of the kindest and most amiable cha- 
racter. Sometimes, in his compassion, (pushed, 
as you will say perhaps, rather to the extreme,) 
he would so modify the sense of an erroneous 
answer at Lectures, as to turn a blunder or 
mistake into an answer of at least admissi- 
bility. He is appointed to an interesting 
and useful position, that of governor to prince 
George of Cumberland. 

65. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, April, 1826. 

We have just been subscribing to present 
a snuffbox to Jelf, lately one of our Oriel 
tutors, and now going out to the king of 
Hanover, as chaplain and governor to the 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 105 

Prince. A man in London, to whose taste 
the choice was committed, has much amused 
ns by sending down, for our approbation, an 
article of the kind from Bundell and Bridges, 
with G. B. and a crown in it. What possible 
allusion this could have either to Jelf or to us 
we could not comprehend, and suppose it was 
sent down simply because B. and B. had a 
good stock of such things, presented by sundry 
G. B/s (George Bex) to sundry diplomatists 
or others, and wished to get this one off his 
hands. But we were not such silly birds as 
to be caught with chaff like this, or to stultify 
ourselves by presenting such an article to our 
worthy tutor. We sent it back at once in 
hopes of obtaining something a little more ap- 
propriate and special in its character. 



66. — From the same to the same. 

May 14th, 1826. 
We have at this present moment three days' 
vacation, but nobody is allowed to leave Ox- 
ford — indeed the junction of these two terms 
does not make any very long period, as the 
ensuing one will be over in about a month. 
I am anxious to know how long you will 
remain in town, because I have so much busi- 
ness on my hands, and such a number of books 



106 



ORIGINAL LETTEES, 



to read, if I wish to give myself the least 
chance of success in a first class, that any long 
period spent there would be very undesirable. 
All say that if the second long vacation is not 
spent in reading with some diligence and 
spirit, your hope of doing any thing in the 
schools is gone, inevitably and for ever. 
Those who succeed in getting this honour are 
becoming more and more rare. There are not 
more than four or five from the whole uni- 
versity each term ; but munbers make the 
attempt. Although our college has obtained 
such credit, I am sorry to say it has not got a 
classical first during these last three years. 

Several men went up to town for the ball 
in behalf of the distressed silk weavers. They 
brought back an account of it as a very splen- 
did affair. I hope you were there, and that 
English manufactured waistcoats had appeared 
instead of the fiery Pandemonium colours of 
French silk, which lately caused so much 
wonder as to what would come next. Ma- 
caulay's beautiful article in the Edinburgh 
Review on the London University has been 
much talked of here. His attempt to dethrone 
the Latin language is very audacious, but he 
tries to win the mind of the scholar in favour 
of his attack, by professing an unbiassed love 
of Greek. His easy-going irony against the 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 107 



real universities proves nothing, although 
most entertaining. 

What was it that caused our good relative's 
name to be brought forward so stupidly in the 
Age % a dearth of incident, I suppose. 

The successful claimants for the prize poems 
will be announced in about a fortnight. Mil- 
man, the Professor of Poetry, is to be the 
judge. His new poem, Ann Boleyn, is, as you 
may suppose, very anti-romish. 

I hope H — has been writing for some of 
the various college and university prizes which 
distinguish Trinity and indeed Cambridge ge- 
nerally. There must be with us here a defect 
in having only one reward or honour to con- 
tend for, and that at the end of three years — 
one scholarship and the annual prize poems 
excepted. 

is still a sedulous follower of Isaac 

Walton, but I have not yet been favoured 
with a sight of any poetry or pastoral effu- 
sions of his muse, such as bent that pursuit. 
A — opens a question in the debating society 
next Thursday. What would my father think 
of my having a private tutor now 1 You pay 
them about twelve pounds a term, and you 
are not bound to continue them more than 
one. They put you in the way of what is 
useful to read, help you to write Greek and 



108 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Latin, and are extremely useful in " keeping 
you together" in what you learn. A new 
tutor has just come into our college, of great 
credit for scholarship, of whom I will tell you 
more, if he would desire me to have one. 



67. — From the same to the same. 

No date. 

I have lit, among the leaves of my 
blotting-book, on a little sketch, which I 
took one day in the Schools — i. e. the place 
where the men are examined for degrees, 
&c. Perhaps it will amuse you, though I 
fear that it will not raise your estimation 
of these proceedings. I would not wish you 
to think that nothing better goes on there, 
but it is much to be regretted that anything 
of the kind here presented should ever occur. 
Be assured that it is all genuine and no 
caricature. 

Scene — the " Schools" — by which name is 
meant an apartment about the size of a large 
dining-room. In the middle a table covered 
with Greek and Latin authors, and various 
other books. On one side are seated six 
examiners, in academical robes, with their 
caps on, and with general easy bearing and 
demeanour. On the other six candidates for 
degrees, in gowns, scarfs, white neckcloths, 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFORD. 109 



weepers, &c, &c. N. B. — Any omission in 
dress is sure to be visited with immediate 
condemnation. 

The first on the list is a man of sallow 
and sickly countenance, rather underbred in 
his manners, and evidently with much nervous 
timidity in going through the ordeal. The 
Greek Testament is handed to liim. He be- 
gins to read, but is rather suddenly inter- 
rupted by the logical Mr. , of , who 

looks him in the face, and addresses him 
thus : " What Gospel's that you Ve got f 
" St. Matthew s, sir." " How do you know 
it V The young man was mute. " Go on, 
sir." After the termination of the passage, 
the student was examined in divinity. That 
is, he was required to quote a few texts, and 
to explain a few technical terms of religion ; 
but on being unable to recollect and produce 
extempore a verse in the Bible to prove the 
existence of original sin, he is turned out 
of the schools and plucked — a word easily 
written or pronounced, |)ut a most serious 
misfortune to the sufferer. 

The next candidate is summoned to rise. 
His divinity is gone through successfully. 
He is then called upon to construe a passage 
in Herodotus. Suddenly interrupted — " Se 
ye, sir ; give the full force to each of those 



110 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



words." This is done. The book is closed, 
and the history examination commences. 
" What comes in the seventy-ninth chapter 
of the second book of Herodotus V A pause. 
" Don't you know that \ It's about the cro- 
codile. Which jaw does he move V A pause. 
" Don't you know that, sir \ Then tell me 
the three wrong reasons Herodotus gives for 
the Nile overflowing in summer." " I forget 
them, sir, but I can tell the right one." " I 
don't want the right one ; I want the wrong 
ones." Serious looks are passing among the 
exam in ers. One more chance given. " How 
many miles is it from the village Agnoste 
to the village Aneurete V 3 " Seven miles." 
"No, sir." " Eight miles and a half." "Worse 
again, sir, it is seven miles and a half f and 
the examiner sits down with an air of 
triumph at being able to correct the im- 
portant difference from a piece of paper on 
which he has previously copied it out, and 
which he attempts to hide under his gown*. 

* All this may seem strange indeed, but the eccentricity 
of the examination (to use the mildest term) is not exag- 
gerated in the smallest degree. When the editor himself 
was under examination for a first class, he was put on in He- 
rodotus, at one of the chapters in the middle of one of his 
long rambling stories, which are not less amusing than, at 
times, unconnected with the historic narrative, except bj 
most trivial links. After he had construed the chapte? 



EXTRCTS, ETC. — OXFORD. Ill 



The next book given is Pindar. When 
the glorious poetry of the first Pythian is 
just beginning to warm up the spirit of the 
same student who had undergone this ob- 
noxious ordeal, a noble strophe is suddenly 
interrupted : " What is the logical fault of 
that proposition \ Tell me the major term, 
major premiss, copulative, predicate ; give it 
to me categorically, hypothetically ; and tell 
me the physical definition of Typhon. Make 
haste, sir." 

This was too much for me to bear any 
longer. I got up, and marched out of the 
room, with that sort of indignant tread which 
one sometimes cannot help, when one's wrath 
gets down from the brain into the shoes. 
The examiners looked at me simultaneously, 
but I was soon on the outside pavement, and 
happy to be clear away from the sound of 
their caprices. I ventured to think that the 
timid should have been encouraged, the in- 
dustrious and meritorious drawn out with 
sympathy, and all treated with the utmost 
courtesy which one gentleman would use to 
another * 

without interruption, the examiner sharply exclaimed : 
" Shut your book, sir, and connect that passage with the 
past and future history of your author ! ! ! " 

* I have no doubt that all this is now completely 
changed. 1861. 



112 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



68. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford, 1826. 

We have lately lost two great Oxonian 
dignitaries — first, old Collinson, head of 
Queen s, and father of Oxford ; secondly, the 
bishop of the diocese, a good and very worthy 
* man, who departed at four clock this morn- 
ing. It happened that the man who is ex- 
pected to succeed him preached the Uni- 
versity sermon this morning. I heard him, 
and it was a very good one, uniting learned 
disquisition with spiritual admonition. The 
latter point is too often forgot by dons and 
dignitaries here. Some say that Coplestone 
will have the vacant bishopric. 

I have made acquaintance with Mr. Blanco 
White, who is chosen an honorary member of 
our college, and dines regularly at our table. 
He is a remarkable man, and has gone through 
some peculiar experiences and changes in a 
religious point of view. He is of a Waterford 
family, of which all the members before him 
have been extremely attached to Catholicism. 
The present man went over to Spain, and 
was appointed private chaplain and confessor 
to the king of that country, and he is deeply 
read in all the mysteries of the Romish 
church. Afterwards he took a distaste to 
that religion, came over to England twelve 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 113 

years ago, studied Protestantism " ah ovo 
usque ad mala" and is now as staunch in 
defending our tenets as he is severe in con- 
demning those of his former creed. He speaks 
with a strong foreign accent. You can have 
no idea of his adoration for Oxford, as the 
nurse and protectress of orthodoxy. He has 
a soft, pleasing, courtier-like manner, and his 
style of writing is particularly good. 



69. — From the same to the same. 

Feb. i, 1827. 

Among other things, I am at present oc- 
cupied with the thirty-nine articles, and at- 
tend a lecture on them given by one of' our 
tutors, who is reckoned equal in divinity to 
any one in Oxford. Tomline's Annotations 
are the authority on the subject most re- 
spected here. I have not gone deep enough 
into them to form any opinion. Also I have 
read the Gospels and Acts in Greek, with an 
interleaved copy, so that I might observe 
any differences between the real meaning of 
the original and the apparent meaning of 
our English translation. Of this, no doubt, 
there are many instances, notwithstanding 
the excellency and beauty of our translation. 
In no case has it appeared to me perverted 

1 



114 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



to favour any peculiar doctrine, as was sadly 
the case in all versions preceding that of 
1611, which is now in use ; but many texts 
come out additionally plain from the Greek, 
and I dare say it will be still more the case 
in the Epistles and Revelation. 

May I take this opportunity of asking 
whether you and my father would have any 
objection to my going into orders, and un- 
dertaking the profession of a clergyman, in 
case of any strong inclination towards that 
line of life arising in my mind at any future 
time * 

* This brief inquiry led to a full and most profitable 
answer on the subject of the clerical profession and life. 
The editor remembers its reception, but unfortunately, 
with some other of the latest letters from the same be- 
loved hand, it was lost by an accident, in itself unavoid- 
able, and for which there was no subsequent help. A 
deeper interest has arisen on this subject, in consequence 
of the following words having been found to be (as be- 
lieved) the very last entry in the journals of the gifted 
writer. She copies out the sentence of inquiry, and then 
adds : 

" I have not time to copy my answer, which, of course, 
leaving him full liberty, rather expressed pleasure in his 
views, though with great apprehension of making him 
suppose that he had taken a resolution, even in his own 
mind, on the subject." 

Clearly did the writer of the letter and of this passage 
see, with all maternal quickness, added to her own power 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 115 



70.— From F. T. to his Father. 

Oriel Coll. Oxford, Feb. 21, 1827. 
I am very much obliged to you for your 
letter, and though it contained such melancholy 
news of increased ailments, I feel far more com- 
fortable than if I had had none at all, as my 
mothers letter * which I received this day week, 
was evidently written in great illness, though 
perfectly in her usual style of beauty and affec- 
tion. Unfortunately it occupies two days for 
a letter between this and Bursledon. There- 
fore I must remain in suspense till Wednesday 
for the letter which you said should be dis- 
patched to-day. She concluded with saying 
she had much to add in a day or two, and 
accordingly I beg for the first line which she 
can write without discomfort, and pray pre- 
sent and support my suit. She seemed to 
imagine that I had thought more on the sub- 
ject which I mentioned than really was the 

of sympathy, that much more was contained in such a 
sentence, on such a subject, than the brevity and simplicity 
of the communication might at first suggest. She an- 
swered it accordingly with all fulness, seriousness, consi- 
deration and love. 

* It was her last. After a long and painful illness, she 
died, to the irreparable loss of her family, May 27, 1827. 
The change of address in future letters will thus be ex- 
plained. See note on the previous letter. 

I 2 



116 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



case, but certainly shewed her customary dis- 
cernment by presenting to me the real reason 
which appeared to me most inducive for say- 
ing the little I did, " that of the path of duty 
being more easy in that profession than in any 
other, by being more clearly defined." I use 
her exact words — I do not in the least con- 
template an entrance into such a life with the 
eye of romance or blind admiration, and am 
quite convinced that a man may be just as good 
in any other profession or occupation, though it 
does not appear to me so probable that he 
will. While I say this, I am convinced that 
the opposite argument might be sustained 
with much reason and chance of success, but 
my present ideas are firm to what I just ob- 
served. Again, I must beg leave to say that 
in case an anxiety for the church was to come 
on, I should look on it in a far other light 
than of a sacrifice — it would far more likely 
be a gratification to the most complete extent 
of my own wishes and prospect of pleasure. 
To know what I am answering, you will need 
to have my dear mother's letter before you. You 
may be quite sure that I would not communi- 
cate my feelings and opinions in such a matter 
as this to any one but yourself, and am much 
obliged for your kind assurance that my wish 
would be yours on the subject of a profession. 



EXTRACTS, ETC.— OXFORD. 117 

If I was to write any more, it would be but 
a recurrence to the distressing subject with 
which I began, and therefore I beg you will 
give my best love to my dearest mother, and 
earnest hopes for her welfare and recovery. 



71. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, June n, 1827. 
I am now safely reinstated in my college 
rooms. Now and then periods of melancholy 
at our deep loss will recur, but I endeavour 
to resume the customary pursuits of the place. 
I trust that it is the same with you. May I 
ask whether you have yet decided on the in- 
scription? A few lines in the Prisoner of 
Chillon struck me the other day as very ap- 
plicable to her character — 

" Pure and bright, 
And in her natural spirit gay — 
With tears for nought but others' ills, 
And then they flow'd like mountain rills, 
Unless she could assuage the woe, 
Which she abhorr'd to see below." 

Yes, " abhorred." We remember her efforts 
in behalf of the suffering slaves, the suffering 
sweep chimney boys, the suffering Irish, boys 
and children suffering from any cruel treat- 
ment, boys killed in school fights, and others 
without end, wherein there was woe, among 



118 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



rich or poor, young or old, at home or in any 
quarter of the earth * 



72. — From the same to the same. 

Heron Court, Christ Church, Oct. 16, 1827. 
Montagu Parker and I arrived here last 
Saturday. The party consists of the earl, 
who scarcely ever leaves this place except for 
parliament, our Oriel friend, and his younger 
brother, Mr. Huntley, a very popular and 
friendly man, who is Fellow of All Souls, 
Oxford, and colonel Bowles. Shooting in the 
day, and chat or reading in the evening, go 
on with much spirit, and the large sitting- 
room is filled with one of the most interesting 
libraries which I have ever seen. Its merit 
consists in its variety and completeness, from 
its having been formed by three men of dis- 
tinction, one after another — a most rare family 
succession. The first was Harris, the well- 
known philosopher. Then came the diploma- 
tist, then the present owner, who seems to 
read everything. He has been very kind to 
me, and shews quite a pleasure in pointing 

* Those only who knew about her daily life, or were 
acquainted with her manifold writings in behalf of all 
causes of humanity, can possibly tell how deeply these and 
all similar subjects had touched her heart, raised her plead- 
ing voice, and exercised her gifted pen. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 119 



out to me tfce many and distinguishing ex- 
cellencies of the books. The library is rich in 
Greek and Latin classics, and in fine editions 
of all the best French works. 

I am much obliged to you for your letter 
from London on the way to Ireland, and hope 
that you have not suffered at all from your 
journey. 

I shot yesterday, as usual, most hopelessly, 
but was not the less amused, having long ac- 
customed myself to complete failure in the 
science. In one respect the gamekeepers have 
reason to be satisfied with me, as I don t even 
wound or touch their birds. The game is 
abundant, and of all sorts, and the wildness of 
the country is to me very attractive. Black 
cock and wild duck are in abundance. I have 
the morning to myself in the library, and 
enjoy it no less than the shooting. It is a 
happy thing to have two or three strings to 
our bow. 

Mr. Peel is expected here to-morrow from 
Mr. Baring's, and there will be a grand day's 
shooting accordingly. 



73.— From the same to the same. 

Oxford, October 25, 1827. 

We left Heron Court after a pleasant week 



120 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



and most friendly reception. Fitzharris, Hunt- 
ley, Parker, and I occupied the coach to Ox- 
ford, where an excellent dinner had been 
ordered for us at All Souls', i mentioned in my 
last that Mr. H. was a fellow of that comfort- 
able establishment, and he was our host. All 
was provided for us with the proverbial taste 
of that institution. 

I have been credibly informed that there is 

every prospect of R having his dramatic 

efforts crowned with success in the represen- 
tation of his tragedy. If so, he will have laid 
a kind of foundation stone, such as no similar 
writers have been able to do for many years 
past. The difficulty of producing a good 
tragedy seems of late to have been an 
achievement similar to attempts at squaring 

the circle or successful alchemy. If R 

succeeds, it will indeed be a triumph. If he 
fails, it will only be in accordance with all 
recent aspirants in the same way. I trust 
that his efforts will prosper, and many will 
rejoice with him if they do. 

Mr. Peel did not remain long at Heron 
Court, but I was glad to have an opportunity 
of meeting him in private. He was rather 
silent and reserved, but not at all an inat- 
tentive listener. He seemed to like this much 
better than talking himself. On no subject 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 121 

did he seem more to brighten up than on old 
books and editions, to which I happened to 
make some allusion after dinner. This led 
him to converse with me for some time on 
the subject, and you know I am compara- 
tively fresh from such studies, having spent 
two or three years ago full as much time as 
I ought, if not more, on Bibliography and 
Dibdimsm. Mr. Peel told us some stories 
with considerable spirit — one or two good 
ones connected with shooting, which I will 
tell you when we meet. He was carefully 
and accurately dressed, and is of a strong 
built frame, with a very abundant head of 
hair, of rather light colour. Ninety-two head 
of game were killed by lord Malmesbury, 
Mr. Peel, and another, who made the senior 
shooting party of the day. Our host spoke 
kindly of you, and told me that he had the 
" pleasure of acquaintance with both my pa- 
rents/' Considering how recent the loss of 
my dear mother, there was a delicacy of feel- 
ing in putting it thus — in not naming her by 
herself. 

I am glad to be once more among my old 
college books and studies ; and the oaken 
door is frequently closed against all noisy 
intruders who would come to disturb the firm 
of Aristotle, Pindar, and Co. Many of my 



122 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 

contemporaries have already left college, and 
others are soon to depart. I have much rea- 
son to be thankful for considerable happiness 
in the place, and only wish that I had made 
better use of my time. If I had, coming up 
as I did very fairly grounded and prepared, 
in all probability I should have obtained a 
first class. As it is, in all probability I shall 
not, though still intending to attempt it. 
Altogether, if asked for which place I had 
the most regard, Harrow or Oxford, I must, 
in truth, give my preference to the former. 
Still, however, Oxford will always be remem- 
bered by me with intense interest. Trusting 
to be with you soon, I am, &c. &c. 



74. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, Oct. 19, 1827. 
I am very anxious to hear how you have 
been since your serious attack of illness in 
London, and how you have borne your Irish 
travelling, including the somewhat airy and 
too well ventilated post-chaises of that land. 
Pray remember me very kindly to all my 
relations there. I very much wish to see 
some of them, and only regret that hitherto 
it has been so little in my power, however 
desirous I may have been. I have been al- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFOKD. 123 

ways, you know, rather busy one way or an- 
other ; and when one once gets into this 
habit, I suppose it will always continue. You 
have often said that having nothing to do does 
not agree with me, and I suppose it is true ; 
so if work is not cut out for me, I am apt to 
cut it out for myself. 

Yesterday I resigned my office of treasurer 
to the debating society. I am glad to have 
fulfilled it, as it only occupied about an hour a 
week, and is a creditable function. The insti- 
tution is going on prosperously, but its new 
condition, though preferable in many points, 
is not very advantageous to its oratorical 
department. Formerly, speaking was every- 
thing. Now it only occupies a department of 
the general interest, as the formation of a 
library and perusal of numerous publications 
afford new inducements to membership. Still, 
however, many reasons ought to make us 
thankful for the " local habitation" having 
been at last granted in addition to the 
" name." 

Oxford is, at present, in no little excite- 
ment. The origin of it is the election of fel- 
lows at All Souls' College. Twenty-four can- 
didates and only four vacancies. From Oriel, 
Murray, Macdonald, and Hornby are among 
the candidates. From Christ Church, appear 



124 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



on the lists, William Ashley and young Tal- 
bot, two scions of illustrious houses — and the 
former has the decoration of M. P. to his 
name, no slight attraction, I should imagine, 
in that abode of fashion, dignified retirement, 
French wines, whist, and social merit of every 
description. 

It is quite certain that men are qualified 
and tested too for entrance into this college 
rather by their capacities as good members 
of society than by their abilities in scholar- 
ship of any kind. No All Souls' man of any 
sincerity would deny or question this. Were 
old Chichele, the founder of this noble insti- 
tution, to rise up from his grave, he would 
hardly know himself among such high com- 
pany. Though afterwards an archbishop, his 
own origin was by no means lofty, and as 
patron of learning, the first thing which he 
might feel inclined to do would be to eject 
some of these very pleasant, very honourable * 
men into the neighbouring High Street, say- 
ing, " Tempus abire tibi est," and to put in 
their place some truly hard students instea'd. 

* Three lionourablcs and a baronet's son were at this 
time chosen — personally, superior and most excellent men. 
The remarks are on the system, not on the individuals. 
The changes and the alterations of the last few years are 
well known to all. 1861. 



EXTRACTS, ETC.— OXFORD. 125 



75. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel, Nov. 7, 1827. 

Your letter reached me this morning. I 
am thankful to hear that you have been 
"sent safe home" (according to the somewhat 
ominous wish so often met with on Irish high- 
ways), after all your journeys on the sister 
land. 

I have just written to R , inviting him, 

with any one whom he might bring from 
among his literary and oratorical friends in 
Cambridge, to come down here and address 
our house on the stirring subject of the Greek 
cause, which is to come before us in our 
Debating Society next Thursday. If they 
should come, as I hope they will, I will shew 
them all proper civilities, and introduce them 
to some of their own ways grid books in litera- 
ture. There are a few, but no great number, 
of such characters to be found here — the ge- 
neral studies being confined to the Greek and 
Latin classics only. This is very proper for 
those who only stay here for their degree, or 
more permanently for tutorial purposes, but it 
is really quite a problem to me as yet un- 
solved, that among the number who dwell 
here a great part of the year, and wear learn- 
ing's garb of scarf, gown, and hood, " black, 



126 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



white, and grey," (I will not venture to finish 
Shakspeare s line,) there should not be more 
poets, authors — in a word, men of general 
literature, and pursuing it for its own sake as 
their best reward. These are few and far 
between. 



7 6. — From the same to the same. 

Nov. 1827. 

We have just had the good news that our 
worthy and able Provost has been appointed 
to the vacant bishoprick of LlandafT. He is 
a very conscientious man, and, I am sure, 
will take pains in his office, but his health is 
not strong, and he is rather of a nervous 
temperament. However, it is thought gene- 
rally that he will be what is called an " orna- 
ment to the bench" from his learning and 
general character. He certainly has had a 
considerable influence in the college, though 
without much apparent interference in pro- 
ceedings. And somehow or other he seems to 
command great admiration from all subordi- 
nates and those who have to do with him. 
This, I suppose, is a good qualification for a 
bishop. The dons of every degree are flock- 
ing into our precincts with their good wishes 
and congratulations. Parker, who is a De- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 127 



vonshire man, and is a friend of his from 
kindred locality, is very entertaining with 
his imitation of his manner and expressions 
under the new honors, with which he is in- 
vested. 

I believe you have been deluged with rain 
in Ireland, but it would be difficult to meet 
with worse weather than we have experienced 
here in Oxford, which seems at the present 
moment helplessly and inextricably in all 
sorts of mists and exhalations. I do not 
merely mention this a V Anglais in conversa- 
tion, merely from want of something to say, 
but to account for my colds, coughs, &c, all 
through the term, and to prevent you from 
having any uneasiness about them. When 
the weather improves, I have no doubt that 
they will all nee away with the returning 
sun. 

At present I am chiefly employed on Livy. 
He is a very interesting author, notwithstand- 
ing a few absurdities, for which he has been 
too much blamed and ridiculed. I know that 
Tacitus is your favourite Latin historian, but 
I must stand up for Livy also. People should 
recollect that some among his strange halluci- 
nations were only those which were commonly 
current in his day, e. g. We do not now agree 
with him in undervaluing every thing else com- 



128 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



paratively with military prowess and perform- 
ance, but almost everybody shared in this 
feeling at Rome in Livy s age, and naturally 
enough he reflected the general opinion of his 
countrymen. 

In about ten days more I shall have 
brought to a conclusion my course of read- 
ing towards a first class ; and then I shall 
begin to read them again all through, quickly, 
of course, and without dwelling too long on 
special passages. The course of books requi- 
site is somewhat large and appalling, and I 
have not shrunk from those which are the 
most difficult, e. g. adding Pindar and Aristo- 
phanes to my list. I have, however, but 
little anticipation of success. Few can ob- 
tain this " blue ribbon" of University success. 
In our college it has been, of late, almost 
unknown. At all events, one good thing is 
that, although one may not get public ap- 
plause, still a failure will not strip one of the 
knowledge and remembrances gained by the 
course of reading needful in such an at- 
tempt as that at a first class. Some pretend 
to despise a second, but I don t believe many 
do so in reality. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. DEVONSHIRE. 129 



77. — From the same to the same. 

Whiteway, Chudleigh, Dec. 1827. 

Your letter from Bursledon has just reached 
me. It gives me great pain to hear that you 
consider my dear brother W — in such an 
anxious state. Pray let me know the exact 
state of the case. You know at my time of 
life it is proverbially difficult to realize danger. 
I thought him very worn and thin when I last 
saw him. I shall very soon be with you to 
help in nursing him, and shall shorten my 
two visits to the far west as much as I possi- 
bly can. If any thing should happen to him 
it would take a large amount out of all our 
happiness*. These thoughts are melancholy, 
but I need not conceal them. 

Your safe return home very much gratified 
me, specially as there were furious storms in 
the Irish Channel just about the period of 
your having to cross it. 

I am greatly charmed with this my first 
visit f to Devonshire — this land of hill and dale, 

* The anticipation was only too soon and too fatally 
realized. 

f The editor was now the guest of a beloved friend, with 
whom he was intimately and uninterruptedly associated 
during his whole college-life. He alludes to Montagu 
ISTewcome Parker, a man in whose spirit and demeanour 
there was one of the most remarkable combinations of gen- 

K. 



130 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



rock and river, hanging coppice and hollow 
lane. I will give you a sketch of our party 
when we meet. The household is that of a 
true English country squire ; and what can 
one say more in praise % 

The residence is a large building of brick, 
mellowed by time in its colour and tone, 
situated in the midst of fine sloping hills. 
Even in winter the views are very beautiful. 
Ascending to a point not far distant from 
the house, a very fine expanse of scenery is 
before you, enclosing a broad and extensive 
valley, which forms the estuary of the Ex, 
bounded by broad woods and high heathery 
cliffs. Exeter, with its cathedral, and several 
very fine seats, including Powderham castle, 
are in view. 

tleness, manliness, and refinement unfailing. For a short 
time he represented the division of his county, having de- 
feated Lord John Russell in a severe contest. He subse- 
quently lived a quiet and retired life, in the midst of country 
pursuits, but cultivating the arts, and occasionally journey- 
ing abroad. In early years, from all his appearance, he gave 
promise of living to the full age of man, but it was ordered 
otherwise. The inroads of death slowly and imperceptibly 
crept over him, and one friend, at all events, who would have 
made speed to his bedside, was abroad at the time, and had 
no opportunity of attending on him, or bidding him fare- 
well. Never will he forget the grief of that day when, among 
the letters which met him on his return, was one which 
announced that all had been over about ten days before. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. OXFOKD. 131 

I have chiefly been occupied here with 
riding, and woodcock shooting : but I must 
not be so unloyal as to omit that I was yes- 
terday introduced to the duke of Clarence. 
He stopped, by appointment, to lunch at a 
small town near this, and lord Clifford, who 
has a magnificent place a few miles off, invited 
the whole party from this house to join in 
paying our respects to his royal highness. We 
all went accordingly, made our bows, heard a 
few of his quick remarks, and then departed, 
so as not to intrude too long upon his meal. 
However, I must say that he seemed quite 
pleased to see us, and, among other observa- 
tions, said that he had no doubt we should 
soon be at war. He appeared quite ready to 
begin, and shewed all a sailors energy at 
thoughts of the coming fray. 

Pray let me hear from you again on receipt 
of this letter. I hope very soon afterwards 
to be with you and dear W — at Bursledon. 



78. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel College, Oct. 10, 1828. 
Safe again in Oxford. On the road we had 
a capital view of Lord Berkeley's hounds, in 
full cry, from the top of the coach — a safe 
place, unless the horses had bolted, to survey 
K 2 



132 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the hazards of some capital leaps which the 
huntsmen took close to us. 

The next observable sight was not so ani- 
mating. It was nothing less than a speci- 
men of popular revenge, in the shape of six 
hundred young elms, lately prosperous and 
flourishing, which had been laid prostrate in 
one night. They had been planted in avenues 
on an extensive heath, and the reason as- 
signed is that the proprietor had abrogated a 
long-established custom, and forbidden cutting 
furze from the above-mentioned ground. 

I have paid my respects to the new Pro- 
vost ** of our College, and to Dornford, who 
is now our dean — that is, in fact, the chief 
manager of all college details. As the ad- 
jutant to the colonel in the regiment, so the 
dean to the provost in the college. There 
you have a kind of equation, for military 
men, at least. 



79. — From the same to the same. 

Oxford. Dec. 7, 1828. 
The class paper came out yesterday, and 
they have given me a second class. I am 

* The Rev. E. Hawkins, whom the editor had the 
pleasure to find in the same honourable position on his 
coming to reside as a clergyman, in the neighbourhood of 
Oxford, about thirty years after this letter was written. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 133 

sure that this was quite as much as I de- 
served. There were only three in the first — 
a very scanty allowance of the honour. The 
men are ranged in each separate class alpha- 
betically, there being a certain standard in 
the examiners for each attainment. So it is 
A, B, C in the first, A, B, C in the second, &c. 
One or two men, who fully expected to have 
occupied the highest place, are exceedingly 
disappointed, and do not pretend to conceal 
their feelings. There are thirteen in the 
second class, seventeen in the third, and be- 
low that about eighty. You see, therefore, 
that any one in the second class may ade- 
quately comfort himself with the remem- 
brance that if the whole list had been named 
together, according to merit, he must have 
come within the first sixteen, and might have 
come at any place after the third. I have 
no doubt that I have made this clear to you, 
and that you will be much pleased with my 
position ; though, of course, you would have 
been as much more pleased to hear of the 
highest honour, as I should have been to 
communicate it. 

Yesterday was a time of much academical 
excitement, and the usual number of congra- 
tulations and condolences were respectively 
given. I was examined for six successive days : 



c 



134 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



on the first by word of mouth, and on the 
others by having historical, critical, or philo- 
sophical essays on given subjects submitted 
for writing, with nothing but pen, paper, and 
one's own brains to effect the desired results, 
in the midst of such a stir and din that one 
certainly is not in the most favourable position 
towards their production. Oriel again failed 
in producing a first, though no less than six 
of us went up from that college to see what 
could be done. Of all the tutors here, perhaps 
there is no one who takes more interest in 
the success of the men than one of the juniors 
— I mean Newman * who is a clever and hard- 
working man, and, it is said, would himself 
have taken a first-class, had it not been that 
his health failed about the intended time of 
going up for examination. 

I sent R a list of the honours to-day, 

and enclose one for you. If you shew it to 
anybody, as you value my collegiate fame, 
pray remind them that the thing is alpha- 
betical, which brings my name down to the 
very foot of the list, as from U to Z there 
are none apparent in my division. The col- 

* His celebrity, at that time, had not begun. He was 
then the avaXms AeW (as Coplestone, I believe, termed him) 
whose powers subsequently, but not long after, were deve- 
loped with such fatal results. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — OXFORD. 135 

lege will give me a book, with its arms upon 
it, and I dont in the least regret having 
made the attempt, for many, many reasons, 
though I do very much regret that I wasted 
so much time, which, if well employed, might 
have led to a higher place, as I must say, 
that, on entering college, I was very well 
grounded, as they call it, and never had much 
difficulty, except the grand difficulty of over- 
coming idleness, in classical studies. 



80. — From the same to the same. 

Oriel Coll., Dec. 19, 1828. 
Many thanks for your kind letter. I am 
very glad that you were satisfied at my per- 
formances in the schools, and it encouraged 
me, though unsuccessful in my highest aim. 
A child once had her testament taken away 
by some persecuting enemy of the scriptures : 
" They have taken away my book/' she said, 
"but they won't take away all the chapters 
of St. John which I have learned by heart 
and so I may say that failure in the honour 
does not deprive one of what one may have 
got into the head and memory. Curiously 
enough, just at this moment, when one feels 
a little inclined to be questioning the matter, 
whether all the time spent on Aristotle, for 



136 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



University examination, might not have been 
better employed on general literature, or on 
some other studies, it happens that a friend 
of mine, who got a first, and is himself be- 
ginning the law, told me that his law-tutor 
put him on studying and analyzing Black- 
stone, exactly on the same principles as those 
of Aristotle. 

I intend to go immediately to Bursledon, 
and as I shall of course want something to 
do, and this is not a travelling season, I am 
thinking of attacking Adam Smith, Black- 
stone, and some English history. School and 
college work is finally over, and a new range 
of study now claims attention. 

R writes to me from Cambridge some 

kind congratulations. He speaks of staying 
up the greatest part of the next vacation to 
read, and mentions that he has formed ac- 
quaintance with Hare and Thirlwall *, two 
men of great ability, and recent translators of 
Niebuhr from the German. 

This will, I hope, soon reach you in the far 
west. Pray remember me to relatives at 
Woodlawn, and tell them that my first ex- 
cursion (I hope in the spring) will be to 
Ireland, of which as yet I know so little — 
but by no fault of mine. 

* Now Bishop of St, David's. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 137 



81. — From the same to the same. 

London, March 29, 1829. 

I am very glad to hear of your safe arrival 
among relatives and friends. 

We are comfortably lodged here, and have 
had a good many invitations. Your old friend, 

Lady , desires me to remember her most 

kindly to you. As usual, she was overflowing 
and abounding with all sorts of questions on 
all sorts of topics, and used to the full the pri- 
vilege of an old and truly venerable friend, to 
whom I would not, for any thing, have been 
wanting in courtesy and respect. But the 
questions absolutely came out in volleys or 
discharges, something like what they call a 
bouquet in fireworks, one after another, quick 
as one tongue could put them, and rather 
quicker than the other tongue could answer 
them. You will, I am sure, be amused at this 
reminiscence, and knowing the lady so well, 
will not charge me with any exaggeration. 

She shewed much feeling on my deli- 
vering her a message from the Bishop of 
Norwich, at his special desire. It was an 
expression of thanks for some act of much 
kindness done on behalf of one of his grand- 
children. The good old man talked to me 
about his own life, as being of necessity very 



138 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 

near its end, but roused himself into his usual 
energy about his old friends, the Roman Ca- 
tholics. He said he had a petition to present 
the moment he could leave his house, to 
which he was then confined, though not by 
any serious ailment. He, too, sent you his 
kind and affectionate remembrances. 

H has been asked for some verses, to 

appear in the 6 Casket/ a volume to be pub- 
lished in behalf of a much respected family 
fallen into distress. Much interest is shewn 
about the volume, and it is expected that it 
will have a very large circulation. It is to 
be a collection of short pieces in prose and 
verse, with the authors' names attached, and 
some of the most popular writers of the day 
have promised contributions * 



81. — From the same to the same. 

Bursleclon, July 7th, 1829. 

On receiving your recommendation of Adam 
Smith, I immediately attacked him, and found 
him in some parts very interesting, and by 
and bye have no doubt I shall see the import- 
ance of many parts which appear at present 

* These sort of volumes were not so common then as 
they have since become. — Note by Editor. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — BUESLEDOK 139 

unnecessary to the chain of the system. My 
old Oxonian friend Aristotle should teach 
us not to imagine any thing to be unne- 
cessary (and therefore tedious) because the 
link does not immediately appear. Since I 
saw you I have read some history, a little 
divinity of various kinds, and that remark- 
ably clever novel Hajji Baba, a book which 
sets before you Oriental manners, and even 
their habitual modes of thinking, in a most in- 
teresting and emphatic manner. I am sorry 
to see that the Times of yesterday presents an 
exceedingly melancholy picture of affairs in 
Ireland. It must touch any one who can 
feel for the public weal, and it seems very 
wrong to preserve all our concern for our own 
petty and personal interests. The reporter 
recommends martial law for the northern 
counties of Fermanagh and Monaghan. Lord 
was very naturally unpopular, on ac- 
count of his turning people out of their cot- 
tages. I myself saw several of them unroofed 
and dismantled, when on my way to Armagh. 
It was a melancholy sight, and perfectly new 
to me ! The Times seems to expect a regular 
row in the above-mentioned counties, but I 
trust that the alarm is exaggerated. 



140 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



82. — From the same to the same. 

Woodlawn, Gal way, August 29, 1829. 
I arrived here on Monday last from Can- 
gort, and found this place in the greatest 
beauty, and had it not been for the incessant 
rain, I should by this time have made ac- 
quaintance with all the woods and walks of 
this fine scene, which, as the abode of your 
youth, and from other reasons, ought to be 

dear to me. J. T and I are soon to set off 

to spend a few days in visiting Connemara, 
from which J and H — M — have just re- 
turned. They give a most interesting account 
of its picturesque beauty and of the peculi- 
arity of its inhabitants. The latter, who from 
his pedestrian excursions in Wales is a good 
judge, says, that from the glimpse he had, it 
was equal to any thing there. However, in 
the literal sense of the word, all the pleasure 
of visiting such scenes is damped this season 
by the continual and heavy rains. I fear very 
much for the English harvest if any thing like 
the same quantity has fallen on the other side 
of the channel. All the policemen, magistrates, 
and Orangemen, who were engaged in the 
Borrisokane quarrel, have been acquitted, and 
the Tipperary peasantry have been heard to 
declare openly that they will take the law 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — IRELAND. 141 



into their own hand. One man did this in 
open court, and was immediately committed. 
On last Sunday I saw the first original copy 
of a threatening notice. It was sent to Mr. 

H , who lives two miles from C Park, 

and desired him to prepare his coffin, or raise 
his labourers' wages. At the end was the un- 
mistakeable device of a coffin and blunderbuss 
in bold relief. The letter was given at night 
to his steward, who was sworn, on his knees, 
to present it to his master. The same lawless 
party proceeded afterwards to each of his 
labourers, and swore them not to work at 
lower wages than they desired. Tipperary 
however is at present far worse than any 
other county, and nothing of the kind is going 
on here. Indeed, from the little I have ob- 
served, they appear a much quieter set in 
Galway. The school-girls are a delightful set 
of children to teach, and seem rather like the 
friends and playmates of the family. Henry 

M was examining them yesterday in the 

Bible, and they were far better informed than 
some finished Oxonians and Cantabs. 

The things which seem at present chiefly to 
occupy the upper classes in Ireland, are, ser- 
mons, education, horses, and religious or politi- 
cal controversy. The contrast is very striking 
between the subjects of thought and conversa- 



142 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



tion here and in England. I think the causes 
are not difficult to be traced. It appears to 
me that the existence of two opposite religions, 
the miserable distress and poverty of the ma- 
jority, and, lastly, the agitated and turbulent 
state of the country, are quite sufficient to 
give cause to a serious feeling of responsibility 
quite unknown in the calmer and less troubled 
atmosphere in England, where the poor are 
provided for by law, and where there is but one 
religion. There must be some cause for the 
greater degree of religious earnestness which 
exists in this country, and the fact is incon- 
trovertible. I saw a Mr. , who saw P — - 

at Calcutta in February, in the streets. He 
had nothing to tell me of him (as he was not 
acquainted with him), except that he was still 
at college, and living with Arthur. The pas- 
sage of the late ships from India has been long 
and desperately bad, which may make you less 
anxious about the non-receipt of letters from 
him. I am delighted to hear of K — 's health 
and safety at Gibraltar, a spot adjacent to 
scenes of the most stirring interest at the 
present moment. 

83. — From the same to the same. 

Clifden, Connemara, Sept. 2, 1829. 

Being in a part of his majesty's dominions 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — WOODLAWN. 143 

so unknown, and, at the same time, so peculiar, 
I send a detail of what I have seen, so far as a 
sheet of paper will contain it. A frank is 
out of the question since the political decease 
of the illustrious Eichard Martin as the repre- 
sentative for Connemara. 

James T- and I have just returned to 

the inn, after dining with the clergyman of 
the parish, for whom we brought a letter of 
introduction. We have both been very much 
pleased and interested with our tour thus far. 
From the town of Galway the country pos- 
sesses very striking beauty, although without 
any trees whatsoever, as a general feature, 
after you pass Oughterard. The road runs 
between very lofty mountains, skirted by a 
succession of extensive lakes. The inhabit- 
ants are very thinly scattered, but appear by 
no means worse off than in other parts of Ire- 
land. We have absolutely seen only two gen- 
tlemen's houses for the last twenty-six miles. 
One is a fishing lodge, which was built on the 
margin of a grand trout lake by dean Mahon, 
before he was brought to the greater clerical 
strictness by which he is now characterized. 
The other is the celebrated Alsatian fortress 
of the Martins, Ballynahinch Castle — a large 
rough-looking abode, overlooking a wide river, 
or rather a running lake, and girt by the 



144 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



loftiest mountains. The son of old Richard 
Martin resides there at present. It is the 
fashion in these localities to be deeply in- 
volved, and it only increases a man's popu- 
larity and the general sympathy for him. The 
king's writ is said not to run here, and an 
arrest is not a very easy affair, as there is 
only one road, and all travellers undergo the 
severest scrutiny from inquiring eyes, directed 
upon them by wild-looking knots of men, with 
stoutish sticks in hand. Questions are not 
spared, if the smallest cause for them appears 
to the natives. 

Mr. Thomas Martin seems very anxious to 
improve the state of the country, and is much 
respected. At present the green marble quar- 
ries are the source of income to which he chiefly 
attends, and I should imagine they must be 
successful in the end, as the colour is, to my 
mind, very beautiful indeed. The situation of 
the quarry is not unfavourable for sea car- 
riage, as it is only four miles from this town, 
which is washed by a deep bay of the Atlantic, 
and possesses an excellent harbour and quay, 
formed entirely by nature. However, money 
for the work is much wanting, and Mr. D'Arcy, 
the owner of this thriving place, is very much 
in the same pecuniary condition as his neigh- 
bour, though he possesses a very large terri- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CONNEMARA. 145 

tory, and a castle most picturesquely situated, 
and surrounded with every improvement which 
mere labour can effect. The marble is lying 
on the quay in blocks of a ton weight and 
upwards, and the communion table at church 
here is formed of it. The clergyman is a kind, 
eloquent, and intelligent man, and we did not 
undervalue his mutton, as no fresh meat is 
provided in the inn, which is rather a primi- 
tive place. In the stable they give our horse 
oats just as cut from the field, and a young 
ostler, the first time of my going out, abso- 
lutely buckled the reins to the collar ! ! ! The 
clergyman told us that provisions here were 
scarcely half the price they were even at Bal- 
linasloe, potatoes a penny to three halfpence 
a stone, salmon and mutton each three pence 
a pound — that the poor were more comfortable 
than in most parts of Ireland, and that he 
considered the sub-letting act, though bene- 
ficial to the populous parts of Ireland, very 
injurious to this, which is very thinly peopled, 
and easily brought into cultivation. He said, 
apparently with great reason, that previous 
to this bill speculators possessed of capital had 
begun partially to reclaim lands, and then let 
them again, after the first outlay of money, 
which does not exist here, and without which 
it is impossible to begin. The advantages of 

L 



146 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



this country had just been discovered when 
this bill was passed, and he considered it a 
grievous barrier to improvement, the scarcity 
of inhabitants putting this district quite in a 
different situation from the rest of Ireland. 

The peasantry are tranquil and honest, and 
obedient to the law, except as to bailiffs and 
debt. There are none of the vexatious beg- 
gars 45 " and lying cheats who so much dimin- 
ished my pleasure at Killarney, and indeed I 
have not been asked for money by a single 
beggar since I entered the enormous district 
of Connemara. 

The word Connemara, in the Irish tongue, 
means " Bays of the Sea? and the country so- 
called occupies a space of about thirty-five 
miles in width and forty in length. In my 
ignorance I imagined it was merely Mr. Mar- 
tin's place of residence which was so named, 
but I am very glad to have had my fabulous 
notions cleared up concerning this terra in- 
cognita, which I would strongly recommend 
to the notice of the painter, the fisherman, the 
mineralogist, the botanist, the improver, and 
finally to the legislator, as worth considera- 
tion, before he sends so many emigrants across 
the Atlantic. It is just the place for poor 
colonies, like those which I saw in Holland. 

* A sad contrast now, I regret to say. At least it was 
so in 1859. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. CONNEMAKA. 147 

We have just returned from Mr. Martins 
house at Ballinahinch, where we were ad- 
mitted into the house, but did not see the 
proprietor. He was out on the estate, as we 
were told, on an island. We visited his green 
marble quarries, and I have specimens for you. 
Very little business is done at them. Besides 
these, he has a fine copper mine on his estate, 
(at present idle from want of capital,) and 
one of the finest salmon fisheries. I caught a 
salmon to-day, weighing ten pounds, in a wild 
torrent stream. There were three or four 
others fishing there, but this was the only 
one caught, and so I considered myself very 
much favoured 4 ". This was fair-day here, and, 
compared with what I have seen in Ireland, 
there was adequate comfort and neatness 
among the peasantry who appeared on the 
occasion. The breed of ponies seems much on 
the decline, and good judges said the show to- 
day was very poor indeed. 

A bailiff appeared here about a month ago, 
and I hear that a most extraordinary scene 
ensued. The notice of his arrival had pre- 

* The editor was very much amused by the observation of 
the fisherman at Ballinahinch when he observed, on asking to 
fish, that he was afraid it was not in season for it. " Oh ! 
your honour," said he, " who minds sasons in this part of 
the country V Kather indicative of the prevalent liberty of 
action in these regions. 



148 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



ceded Mm on the wings of fame, and before 
he had been half an hour in Clifden there was 
a gathering of three thousand men, armed with 
shillelaghs, who did him no damage, but told 

o 7 o 7 

him their intentions in the most unequivocal 
terms, should he presume to molest any 
dwellers in the asylum of Connemara. Very 
naturally, he departed at once. My little tour 
has given these accounts (which I previously 
imagined fabulous) a substance and local 
habitation, and the magnificent scenery, to- 
gether with the simple, honest state of a 
peasantry, so much left to themselves, have 
afforded an interest which has caused me 
very soon to fill a sheet on a part of the 
country at present so utterly unknown to the 
public at large, or even to the band of our 
most enterprising travellers. The locality is 
indeed well worth a visit. We leave this place 
to-morrow for Tuam, Cong, &c. — then for 
Woodlawn, then over land and sea to Bursle- 
don, where I trust soon to see you well and 
prosperous. 

The Editor had now travelled with his 
father through France and Italy to Naples. 
The latter remained at Naples, and the fol- 
lowing letter was addressed to him from 
Sicily : — 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 149 



84. — From the same to the same. 

Hotel Britannia, Messina, April 14, 1830. 

We arrived at this beautiful and singular 
town late last night, and landed this morning 
after a voyage of three days — the wind hav- 
ing been in our favour almost the whole way, 
though at times so near a calm as only just 
to preserve us from that annoying situation. 
The first day we made no further progress than 
issuing from the Bay of Naples, and that with 
difficulty. By the dark evening of the next 
we saw Stromboli, about fifty miles off, glow- 
ing like a bright revolving ball every five 
minutes ; and at the same time last night we 
were descending the strong current between 
the Straits of Messina, under the guidance 
of a Messenian pilot, who held an amusing 
conversation with our red-faced captain ; the 
one Italianizing his English, the other Eng- 
lishing his Italian. The consequence was, that 
neither of them understood one another very 
accurately, and that all assistance, even from 
the most skilful interpreter, seemed most un- 
satisfactory. Till one arrives close to the mouth 
of the strait, it is impossible to see that Sicily 
is divided from the lofty mountains of Cala- 
bria. Scylla soon appears, without, however, 
any more strange appearance than that of a 



150 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



common rock. It is by no means grand at a 
distance. I know not whether a nearer ap- 
proach will give any reality to Homer s ter- 
rific description of the monster ; and at all 
events I shall be unable to detect her per- 
sonally, as it occupies too long to go to the 
opposite shore on account of the current. 

Messina is built with the utmost regularity, 
and the quay forms an extensive crescent, so 
much bent as really to resemble the ' sickle' (its 
ancient name) ; and there is something very 
striking in the look of the houses when the 
cause is known. The earthquake which de- 
stroyed the town about fifty years ago has 
caused the adoption of an architecture ex- 
clusively adapted for the recurrence of such 
a misfortune. Each building is between 
twenty and thirty feet high, and seldom con- 
tains more than two stories, built with extra- 
ordinary strength — the lower one with great 
oblong stones, as the fortified palaces at Flo- 
rence — the upper one bound together by short 
thick columns, of a proportion unknown else- 
where, so far as I am aware of. This is 
covered in with a light tile-roof. Behind 
this long crescent of houses there are two 
streets, and all the other streets run at right 
angles. The whole place seems clean, orna- 
mental, and prosperous. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 151 

We met, on board, two agreeable and intel- 
ligent young men — one, Mr. Rennie, of the 
well known scientific family of that name — 
the other, an American, Mr. Rogers. We 
shall all start and continue together so long 
as it suits all parties. I think, from what I 
see of them, that this will add much to the 
pleasure of the tour, particularly in the wilds 
and innless roads of the south of the island. 
I have already had a specimen of the foliage 
and trees of the island. It becomes more 
tropical, and differs from the Italian, the 
heights behind the town being covered with 
enormous aloes and prickly pears. The fruits, 
&c. to be seen in the markets, however, are 
not superior to the Neapolitan. Provisions 
here are very good, but the accounts as to 
what is to be found after Syracuse are not 
very promising. My fellow-travellers on 
ship-board complained much of the nightly 
attacks of bugs and fleas ; but it appears to 
me that I am flea-proof, as I knew nothing 
about them. The weather was lovely, and so 
calm that we all escaped sea-sickness, and 
shared in the strong fare provided by the 
captain with the utmost freedom, though 
hung-beef and dry peas three times a day 
was a little too much for any one but a sailor. 
You will be surprised at the positive affirma- 



152 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



tion of the captain that no one could be sea- 
sick on such a diet ! The fact, I suppose, is, 
for the sake of his argument, that any one 
who had the " dura ilia" of Horace for such 
articles could stand the waves also. 

We have hired mules, &c. on very good 
terms, having taken some animals, which 
were returning to Palermo. They seem very 
good, and have sound knees — a point in which 
they often fail. 

English is more spoken here than in Italy, 
and indeed every language is in use, from its 
being such a mercantile place. There are 
several Greek tailors, who live near one an- 
other, and dress in the national costume. 
They did not seem to like the idea of Leo- 
pold becoming their king, and said he had 
done nothing for the country, and that there 
were many others, English or Russians, whom 
they would much prefer. Mr. pro- 
vided us with money, but did nothing else 
in the way of courtesy or hospitality to 
strangers. Including the ascent of iEtna, if 
we find it can be done at this early season, 
I believe our tour will take above a fort- 
night. We certainly shall not go to the 
west end of the island, which is not equally 
worth notice as the rest. I will write again 
shortly. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 153 



85. — From the same to the same. 

Catania, April 18, 1830. 

My last letter left off just before we were 
mounted on our four mules, with our guides 
and baggage carried by the other three, and 
supplied with a certain quantity of tea, sugar, 
coffee, &c, from hearing such an unfavourable 
account of Sicilian provisions, especially in 
the interior of the island. We were soon on 
our road southward, purposing to go through 
La Nunziata and Jardini, to Catania and 
Syracuse. The road was dehghtful — skirting 
for a considerable distance the blue waves of 
the Mediterranean, and bordered by steep 
slopes on the other side, on which the prickly 
pear, the aloe, and similar productions of this 
semi-tropical clime, grew in rich luxuriance. 
Vegetation of this kind commences at Terra- 
cina, and meets the traveller in Italy on 
emerging from the Pontine marshes ; but 
here, as I mentioned in my last, the abund- 
ance and vigour of these productions far sur- 
passed any thing hitherto witnessed by us on 
Italian ground. 

On arriving at our lodging for the first 
night, we were shewn into the one only room 
which the inn offered, as the apartment of 
reception for travellers. I shall not speak of 



154 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the fare, further than to say that, although of 
the most ordinary description, it sufficed for 
those who had been riding all day : and our 
sleep was not to be complained of, though the 
only accommodation to be had, with a view to 
that important means of refreshment, was 
afforded by four beds in the four corners of 
the room into which we were at first shewn. 
Travellers in Sicily must be prepared for all 
such contingencies ; and we were all ready to 
meet, without complaint, every objectionable 
circumstance as to accommodation, except 
one, on which I shall, by and by, add a few 
words. 

On the second day of our excursion, my 
mule — although a strong, tall, and beautiful 
creature, much recommended, and chosen 
by me out of several others offered — fell 
down suddenly under me, on a road as 
smooth and excellent as possibly could be. 
It was just carelessness on the part of the 
animal ; and I understood that rare as such 
falls are on rough and dangerous ground, 
yet these incidents are not uncommon 
where the traveller is least likely to ex- 
pect them. When down, however, the mules 
shew much more intelligence than a stum- 
bling horse ; for instead of senselessly strug- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. SICILY. 155 



gling and rolling about, they recover themselves 
with a steady, regular, and systematic move- 
ment backward, which almost precludes dan- 
ger to the rider. I saw several instances of 
this before our tour was completed. 

We made, in the course of our progress 
towards Catania, a most romantic diversion 
and ascent to visit the ruins of the celebrated 
theatre, once belonging to the ancient town 
of Taurominium — a name preserved in the 
present village of Taormini. My first view 
of the renowned iEtna was attained through 
a rent in the torn arches of this time-worn 
structure ; and surely never was a fairer 
frame, in which a picture so glorious could be 
set and seen. 

The spectacle presented by this theatre is 
of the most extraordinary character, and I can 
scarcely describe it. Instead of being on a 
flat, like most other edifices of the kind which 
I have yet visited, it is approached by an 
ascent of much steep ruggedness ; and when 
you enter the ruins, you find brickwork inter- 
mingled with hewn rock, and here and there 
a mantle of verdure and foliage overhangs 
the arches, doorways, and other architectural 
remains ; and so narrow are the fimits of 
the rude, craggy eminence on which the vast 
and grand building once stood, that you can 



156 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



scarcely conceive how room for it could be 
found. The skill and the boldness of those 
who had erected it must strike every one 
who sees it. 

Adjoining the structure are large reservoirs 
for water, which some suppose to have been a 
provision for nctumachia, or aquatic entertain- 
ments. Others conceive that these receptacles 
were intended for baths, or for containing 
water to supply the city in case of a pro- 
longed siege. 

It is a very favourable circumstance for us 
as travellers, that at present Sicily is per- 
fectly free from banditti. One of our mule- 
teers told us that there was not at this time 
a single highway robber in the country, nor 
the remotest chance of the traveller being 
attacked, as (he added, with the true neigh- 
bour-hatred of these countries) would surely 
be the case before we had travelled many 
miles on the opposite coast of Calabria, The 
fact is, that highway robbery and the assas- 
sination of travellers had arrived, not long 
since, at such a fearful height of enormity, 
that (as in many other cases) the evil cor- 
rected itself, or rather forced its own correc- 
tion on that portion of the Sicilians, who from 
their position were most qualified to put a 
stop to the lawless proceedings of banditti. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 157 



The country was divided into certain dis- 
tricts, and a resolute captain, with a band of 
substantial inhabitants, chosen to repress all 
outrage. They performed their duty so well, 
that Sicily is now as safe as it used to be the 
reverse. 

I can bear my testimony to the truth of 
the concluding paragraph ; and the contrast 
is rendered additionally satisfactory, from 
our being informed by the muleteers that 
the Sicilian highwaymen used to adopt a 
most treacherous and murderous system of 
attack, which gave to the sufferers not 
even a choice between the two alternatives 
of resistance or of yielding up their money. 
They used to occupy crags or eminences com- 
manding the high road, and then waited in 
ambush for any approaching party of travel- 
lers, in order to shoot them from their lurk- 
ing place, without giving them any notice, or 
making any previous demand. Having thus 
slain or disabled them, they then descended 
in safety to rifle and plunder their unhappy 
victims. 

We have here found our first, and we were 
informed that, with the exception of that at 
Syracuse, it will be our last tolerable inn be- 
fore reaching Palermo. The landlord is a 
most cordial, friendly, and good-humoured 



15S 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



fellow, who seems to have quite an enthusi- 
astic desire to make his English visitors com- 
fortable, and to provide for their wants in the 
most acceptable manner. Evidently one of 
his leading confidences in so doing is that 
of supplying us with good beef-steaks ; and 
in this effort, at all events, he is most suc- 
cessful. 

Catania is a very interesting town from many 
and various causes. But its proximity to 
iEtna, and its peculiar circumstances, past 
and prospective, in connection with the 
mighty volcano, now towering and domi- 
neering so grandly above us, give a strange 
and engrossing character to its locality, which 
my companions and I very powerfully and 
impressively experience. 

For instance, we wander down to the sea- 
shore here, and instead of traversing ordinary 
rocks and shingle, we tread on dark, multi- 
form, and heaped-up masses of lava ; and on 
directing the eye towards the waves, we see 
how the molten current was checked and con- 
gealed as it met the waters, but not till then. 
Looking upward in the direction of the moun- 
tain, we can trace the course of these devas- 
tating streams — the ' liquefacta saxa' of Virgil 
— although, after the lapse of centuries, even 
this rugged soil becomes serviceable. Lichen 



EXTRACTS, ETC. SICILY. 159 



and mosses first gather on it ; and after a 
certain period ampler vegetation comes, such 
as weeds, and tangled herbs, and the beautiful 
diminutive flowers which are now springing 
around us, to maintain the ancient and poeti- 
cal fame of Sicily for such beauty. And then 
shrubs rise ; and finally, the hand of man 
commences its work, and that which a few 
centuries ago was lying bare and rugged, as 
it was first congealed, and rather resembled a 
bed of coal, cast in gigantic masses all around, 
is now verdant with fruit-trees and foliage, 
and crops of the richest kind. 

The museum here is good, and is copiously 
furnished with Sicilian antiquities. It pre- 
sents many objects deeply interesting, as 
illustrative of classical history, in connection 
with this island. 

Strange to say, so entirely have ancient 
authors and subjects ceased to afford any 
general interest to the modern inhabitants of 
this land, that, notwithstanding the intimate 
connection of Pindar and Theocritus with 
Sicilian subjects, I have been unable to pur- 
chase a copy of either, though making efforts 
to do so both at Messina and here. In my 
ignorance I had imagined that pocket edi- 
tions would be attainable at once in any 
good Sicilian town, and therefore had omitted 



160 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



to bring copies with me, as without doubt I 
should otherwise have done. 

We are preparing for our ascent of ^Etna 
this afternoon. The weather is most promising, 
and we are all in the best health and spirits. 
It is the custom to sleep for a few hours at 
Mcolosi, half way up to the mountain, and to 
leave it at midnight to see the early sun-rise 
on the top of the mountain. We shall pursue 
this plan. 



86. — From the same to the same. 

Syracuse, April 23, 1830. 

We left Catania at about two o clock of 
the day on which I last wrote, and we could 
not possibly have had a more favourable time 
for our ascent. Our party was the first which 
had ascended iEtna this year. With the usual 
habit of making or magnifying difficulties, 
which I have seen among all southern in- 
habitants of Europe, some of the natives met 
us on the side of the mountain before reach- 
ing Nicolosi, and told us that it was impos- 
sible to reach the summit so early in the year ; 
that it was una cosa stravagante, una cosa 
stravagantissima, to think of making the at- 
tempt. Come I Inglesi sono pazzi, says one ; 
and another said, that although a Siciliano, 
he would be afraid to go, bringing forward 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 



161 



the favourite word of these climes, paura, 
so distasteful to our English lips. The youth 
of the party must be the only excuse for our 
pushing by the alarmists with the somewhat 
arrogant boast, Andiamo ! Andiamo ! / In- 
glesi non temono niente ; and we left them 
opening their eyes wider and wider, and gesti- 
culating with their fingers, and repeating the 
sharp Che ! so well known to all who have 
noticed Italian parley, when it is brought to 
an end, and no foundation appears on which 
to renew the topic of discourse. 

The ride to Nicolosi occupied something 
less than four hours. We then arrived at a 
rude inn, which offers one large apartment as 
the receptacle for travellers. After refreshing 
ourselves with tea, we laid down to rest on 
four beds in the four corners of the room, in 
preparation for being summoned at eleven 
o'clock to pursue our upward course, in. order 
to reach the summit of the mountain at sun- 
rise. I cannot say that we slept much. 
Perhaps the excitement and anticipated gra- 
tification combined not a little with our more 
than usually public dormitory in depriving 
us of sleep. The rest, however, was almost 
as valuable to us, and many an agreeable 
interchange of communication passed from 
corner to corner of our room. 



162 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Between eleven and twelve at night the 
mules were brought to the door, and we were 
summoned to mount. On going into the 
open air we found ourselves in a fine and 
genial atmosphere, but the night was very 
dark. I do not say it was so dark as to 
prevent our discovering any objects whatso- 
ever, for I could trace the form of my grey 
mule, and especially her long grey ears stand- 
ing up before me ; but we advanced many 
miles before the objects around us (viz. old 
gnarled or knotted oaks, and lumps of scoria 
or rocky cinders) were visible to human eyes ; 
and it was not until our descent on the next 
day that I was enabled to frame any accurate 
idea of the soil and locality which we had 
traversed during the previous night. How- 
ever, we proceeded onward, with one of the 
guides as leader. Then came two travellers 
in single file, then another guide, then the 
two other travellers, and the third muleteer 
bringing up the rear. All, I believe, were 
trusting imphcitly to the faculties of the 
mules rather than their own human senses 
and capacity, and so we advanced with per- 
fect safety through the dark period of the 
night. By the time that the early twilight 
had begun to appear we arrived at a rude 
oblong building, erected for the accommoda- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — iETNA. 



163 



tion of travellers, and sometimes occupied as 
a sleeping-place for the night. This hut, for 
it deserves no better name, is situated on the 
uppermost border of the regione hoscosa, or 
wooded department of the mountain, and 
there the wood ceases, giving place for the 
most part to a soil, at a later period of the 
year appearing as rank grass, but now covered 
with snow. 

In this hut we had coffee, and leaving the 
mules to feed and wait for our return, we 
here commenced the pedestrian part of our 
expedition. 

This was rather fatiguing. We had to 
make our way, at this early season of the 
year, over a continuous bed of snow, from 
the time of dismounting from our mules until 
we reached the foot of the ashy cone, which 
forms the cap or culminating pinnacle of 
iEtna, in which the bowl of the crater is 
formed. Here there is a small place of 
shelter, which in bad weather might prove 
of invaluable service and protection ; but we 
had no necessity of such a refuge, although 
considerably fatigued by our snowy march. 
At a later period of the year, this snow is, I 
understand, so much melted away by the ad- 
vancing heat of the season, that travellers 
can ride up to the foot of the ashy cone. 
M 2 



164 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



That was now to be surmounted ; and from 
its being very steep, as well as from the loose, 
cirimbling soil on which each footstep was 
placed, we found it no light toil to reach the 
edge of the crater. On striking the foot a 
few inches deep at various points of this 
ascent, we found the soil quite warm. 

Before long, we were all standing on the 
crater's brink, and stretcHng our bodies for- 
ward, we looked into the deep hollow be- 
neath, mysteriously sending forth its waving 
columns of smoke, following each other in 
all vigour and rapidity. The sides appeared 
very precipitous, but we were disabled from 
looking down to any considerable depth by 
the swiftly-rising clouds of smoke, which 
filled the whole circumference until they ar- 
rived witliin a few yards of the crater s brim. 
Then the air began to act upon them ; and 
as we were of course led by our guides to 
that side of the crater from which the wind 
blew, we saw a considerable portion of the 
inner crust of the walls beneath our feet, and 
on each side of the spot where we stood. 
Except for the grand and mysterious cha- 
racter of the sight, I do not hesitate to say 
that the crater of Vesuvius was a far more 
interesting object ; but in making this ob- 
servation, I am well aware that few natural 



EXTRACTS, ETC. iETNA. 



165 



objects present such a variety of form and 
colour as the interior of that more-known 
volcano. When I saw it, a few weeks ago, 
the basin was, generally speaking, free of 
smoke. The soil was coloured with the most 
beautiful hues — yellow, blue, red, green, &c, 
&c. — all shining with a kind of sulphureous 
and metallic lustre ; while one single, dark, 
tapering mound, of small dimensions, and 
composed of black ashes, arose at a parti- 
cular spot, near the centre of the vast exca- 
vation, and occasionally sent forth a gentle 
puff of smoke. The description above given 
will shew how very different the crater of 
iEtna appeared to our eyes. Yet the grandeur 
and the marvel of the spectacle was great 
indeed. 

Many travellers attempt this excursion, but 
many fail — either from fatigue, or from incle- 
ment weather. Simond, whose book we have 
with us, was among the number who thus 
fared. He and his party reached the lower 
edge of the ashy cone, but were prevented by 
the wind and the cold from advancing any far- 
ther. Others are favoured on arriving at the 
summit with one of the most extraordinary 
and glorious views which the whole earth can 
present — comprehending, as it does, almost 
the whole circuit of Sicily, the southern pro- 



166 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



montory of Italy, various islands, and a vast 
expanse of sea on all sides. Our appointed 
lot this morning was not of this brilliancy ; 
for although the weather was extremely fine, 
and a beautiful sun was shining above us, the 
whole mountain was encircled, a few miles 
below us, by a ring or belt of clouds, which 
extended itself to such a breadth as to inter- 
cept our line of vision, and to preclude us 
from obtaining a single ghmpse of any portion 
of our earth, except the mountain-top imme- 
diately below our feet. This was as clear as 
possible. Below, and through the cloud, no- 
thing could be seen. Our guides did not 
give us any reason to expect that this would 
be speedily dissipated ; and accordingly we 
soon began our descent, having seen much to 
interest and delight, although we had not 
the advantage of seeing the magnificent spec- 
tacle of nature sometimes displayed from this 
mighty and mysterious height. 

As we descended, our guides pointed out 
various minor swellings and volcanic marks 
on the mountain-side. Not one of these can, 
as to its appearance, rival .in the least degree 
the pinnacle which crowns the whole, and in 
which the crater lies. Still it is from these 
minor excrescences that the lava has always 
flowed (so far as I understand) at the period 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — iETNA. 



167 



of eruptions. The term eruption is never 
applied to the scenes going on at Vesuvius 
or iEtna, or any other of their fiery kindred, 
unless lava flows. There may be furious and 
continued outpouring of flames, and ejection 
of glowing rocks, cinders, and ashes — the 
* scopulos, avulsaque viscera montis,' to use 
Virgil's grandiloquent expressions- — and every 
other feat of volcanic action may be per- 
formed ; but unless lava flows, the process 
is not dignified with the name of an eruzione 
— translated into our language by the well- 
known word eruption. Inexperienced tra- 
vellers sometimes use the word wrongly, and 
this occasionally meets a polite correction by 
those who live among these scenes, or speak 
of them with native accuracy. 

We had now accomplished an expedition 
to which we had all looked forward with 
keen anticipation, and congratulated one an- 
other on the enjoyment which we had all 
shared. We then returned rapidly to the hut 
where we had left our mules, and hastened 
onward to Catania, which we reached in the 
afternoon, and retired early to bed, having 
two motives to make the most of this night s 
repose — the first, that of compensating for 
the total lack of our usual sleep on the pre- 
vious night — the other, that of laying a little 



168 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



supererogatory stock for future use, as we 
had received very general information that 
during the remainder of our Sicilian journey 
(except perhaps at Syracuse) we should meet 
with no inn or other place of reception in 
which we could expect any of those comforts 
which were there very adequately supplied 
by our kind and obliging host, signor Abbate, 
of Catania. 

The country leading from Catania to Sy- 
racuse was very varied and interesting. 

Sometimes our path was by the sea-shore, 
from whence we saw ^Etna rising in its single 
and solitary dignity, such as no other moun- 
tain in Europe presents. It is not (as Mount 
Blanc or the loftier summits in the Pyrenees) 
merely a more eminent pinnacle in some vast 
range or chain of their brethren. iEtna, 
without any neighbour or rival, lifts its single 
cone on high with a regular unbroken ascent 
from a base of one hundred miles in circum- 
ference. There was not the least . dimness or 
obscuration in the whole atmosphere around, 
except one small cloud which hung as a mo- 
tionless canopy in the serene air just above 
the crater. This was the smoke from its 
vortex, as yet undissipated by the breeze. 
And having once turned to gaze on the spec- 
tacle, we scarcely could leave it and resume 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 169 

our way. Most strange but beautiful it 
looked, as it held its tranquil, undisturbed 
position in the sky : nor was the earthly 
scene less striking, as our eyes travelled 
downwards from the ashy peak to the snow- 
clad plain immediately beneath it, and then 
to the wooded region of the mountain, and 
then to villages and fields and gardens on its 
fruitful side, and then to the town of Catania 
itself, and then to the sea below, with quays 
and moles and jetties, marvellously formed by 
the black lava which once invaded its waves. 

At other times we pursued our path over 
smooth green meadows, enamelled with small 
yet most beautiful flowers. In many instances 
they seemed to me as the diminutive types 
or representatives of many prized and beauti- 
ful productions which we have in our con- 
servatories, and only found in choice gardens 
at home. And there were wild thickets and 
rocky dells, and every variety of scene which 
imagination could wish. 

On our approach to Syracuse many classical 
memories crowded on our minds, and we 
looked to that passage in the Acts, where 
St. Luke, detailing the course of St. Pauls 
journey to Rome, speaks of " landing at Sy- 
racuse, and tarrying there three days." 

The place and neighbourhood abounds with 



170 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



objects to attract the traveller. Among these 
are the ancient cave or prison-house, entitled 
the Ear of Dionysins, the fountain of Are- 
thusa, the rock-hewn tombs of the ancient 
Syracusans, the specimens of English papyrus 
growing in the shallows of the river Anapus, 
an immense theatre, and an amphitheatre 
formed in the natural rock. We visited all 
these objects in succession. 

A few words first on the Ear of Dionysius 
— i. e. the place of incarceration in which Dio- 
nysius, tyrant of Syracuse, shut up his prison- 
ers of state, and then made himself master 
of their secrets by what a Londoner would 
call a kind of " whispering gallery." The 
present appearance of the place is that of a 
deep cleft, cavern, or hollow in the side of 
a rocky height. On entering the cleft by 
torchlight, you find that it becomes narrower 
and narrower as you advance, and also that it 
makes, in two or three directions, curvilinear 
bends. A little above the top of the cleft, on 
the outward face of the rock, is a small hole, 
at present inaccessible, except by the curious 
device of a basket attached to a rope, worked 
through a pulley fixed in the rock still higher 
up, and thus drawn up or let down at plea- 
sure by the guides who accompany the tra- 
veller, or by those who attend at the spot for 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SYRACUSE. 171 

the purpose of receiving visitors, and making 
a little gain by that means. 

The tradition is, that Dionysius, or his act- 
ing official and representative, used to place 
himself at this orifice, when lying in wait to 
catch the sayings and the secrets of the 
prisoners shut up in the cave below for of- 
fences against himself personally, or against 
the state. 

The fountain of Arethusa presents the phe- 
nomenon of a fresh-water spring rising so 
copiously from the shore covered by the salt 
waves, as completely to displace them, and to 
substitute its own bubbling and surging sup- 
plies for those of the ocean, which on all sides 
surrounds the spring. We rowed to the spot, 
and on tasting the water, found it totally de- 
void of any saline taste or impregnation. The 
circumference however in which the pheno- 
menon takes place is very contracted, and at 
a few yards on each side of the spring salt 
resumes its sway. 

Continuing our course in the boat which 
bore us to visit this remarkable curiosity of 
nature, we went to see the fine specimens of 
papyrus growing in the river Anapus, at the 
opposite side of the bay from that where 
stands the present city of Syracuse. These 
plants are a subject of much botanical in- 



172 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



terest. They grow half in and half out of 
the water, and are of such large dimensions, 
as to the thickness of their stem, that then 
capability, when split, for use as paper, ap- 
pears quite evident. 

I understood that these were the only ex- 
amples of the plant at present known, as of 
natural growth, throughout all Europe. 

There are few ancient cities — perhaps none 
of such size as the Syracuse of former days — 
of which the architectural remnants have been 
more entirely effaced, With the exception of 
a few columns of a temple, no relics of build- 
ings (properly so called) were brought under 
our notice. Still, however, where the hand of 
man had called in natural and local peculiari- 
ties to his aid, instead of depending altogether 
on materials formed by himself, there the case 
was different. We saw this exemplified in 
the remains of an i mm ense theatre, constructed 
in a quarry — in an amphitheatre carved out 
of the hard rock, still exhibiting the vivo se- 
dilia saxo ; and in another most interesting 
spot, whether from the rarity of such scenes 
to the travellers eye, or from its own ro- 
mantic and picturesque appearance, or from 
the solemnity of thought arising from the lo- 
cality — not a place of amusement or assem- 
blage of the living, but the long home and 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 175 

receptacle for man s perishing frame. I allude 
to the sepulchres and tombs hollowed out in 
the rock, and occupying a large space of 
ground in the stern and rugged position 
chosen for this purpose by the Syracusans 
of old time, just outside their town. It was 
exactly such a place as one might have sup- 
posed to be the resort of some maniac, ab- 
horring the abodes of men, and while seeking 
shelter from the elements, yet seeking it in 
gloomy, strange, and desolate hiding-places. 
And it seemed to me that this might not 
have differed much from that of the Gada- 
renes, whence there came forth " out of the 
tombs the man with an unclean spirit, who 
had his dwelling among the tombs ; and no 
man could bind him, no, not with chains : be- 
cause that he had been often bound with 
fetters and chains, and the chains had been 
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters 
broken in pieces : neither could any man 
tame him. And always, night and day, he 
was in the mountains, and in the tombs, cry- 
ing, and cutting himself with stones/' 

A large number of antique vases has been 
dug up from among the ruins of these Sicilian 
cities, and many curious coins have been 
found at various times. Some fine Grecian 
vases have been offered to us for sale ; and 



174 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



although on our guard against fabricated 
antiquities , on which subject we had not been 
without warnings, still nothing but the diffi- 
culty of conveying brittle ware, and the pro- 
bability of their being fractured on the way, 
prevented us from purchasing what appeared 
to us to be genuine articles. But they were 
too large to carry. As it was, we were con- 
tented with buying a few earthen lamps, 
and some very diminutive vases. 

My purchase of two little specimens led to 
a little scene this morning which has given 
me quite an insight into the capacity for ap- 
preciating classical beauty which exists even 
amongst the poorest and most uneducated in- 
habitants of these climes. I had left one of 
these simple objects (only a few inches high, 
and without any colouring beyond that of its 
own natural dark reddish earth) on the table 
in my room. Coming in unexpectedly, I saw 
one of our muleteers, with his back to the 
entrance door of the apartment, and without 
notice of my approach, gazing steadily at the 
little vase, in the very attitude of a connois- 
seur admiring a picture with intense delight. 
And just as I entered he was delicately 
handling it, apostrophizing it with evident 
pleasure, and addressing it with epithets of 
praise, of which I remember two, bella ! 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 



175 



graciosa! He felt and realized the beauty 
of form which was there. 

We leave to-morrow for Palazzuola and 
Girgenti, from which last place I hope again 
to write to you. All perfectly well. 



87. — From the same to the same. 

Girgenti, April 26, 1830. 

I gave you in my last an account of our 
proceedings till the day of our leaving Syra- 
cuse. Our next aim was Palazzuola. On 
setting out, the earlier part of the day 
brought us through some very beautiful 
rocky thickets and defiles, and subsequently 
we had to traverse a high, bare, and com- 
paratively desolate region. 

At midday we prepared our provision on 
the bare heath, with the simple implements 
of cookery which we carried with us, and by 
the help of the furze, which we gathered as 
fuel. At this we toasted our beefsteaks ; and 
on these, with the addition of bread, eggs, 
and oranges, we made our repast. We had 
some wine with us ; but notwithstanding the 
beauty and richness of the climate, the Sici- 
lian wine is very harsh and bad. 

At Palazzuola, from there being no inn, we 
went for the night to a Capuchin convent. 



176 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



It was nearly dark when we arrived, fatigued 
and hungry. We asked for something to eat. 
The monks said that they would go out and 
try to procure something for us, but that they 
had nothing in store. The provision of the 
day had been exhausted by its close : for ac- 
cording to that expression which they used to 
us, they were beggars from the poor ; " yes," 
said one, sometimes beggars from beggars" 
The monk who had gone out to seek provisions 
shortly returned with some bread and eggs, 
and on this, with coffee, which we had brought 
with us, we finished our meals for the day. 

One of the monks sat with us during our 
supper, and was very hitelligent and pleasing 
in his conversation. Among other things he 
said — " Our three great principles are, obe- 
dienza, povertd, e castitd." Neither did I 
tlrmk the worse of him, but the better, for 
decided and earnest feelings in religion, how- 
ever mistaken, and for one or two observa- 
tions, exhibiting real and serious interest in 
the spiritual condition of the foreigners whom 
he was entertaining to the best of his ability. 

Our bed-rooms were rude and primitive 
enough. I never occupied an apartment into 
which modern civilization and luxury had less 
penetrated. There was no glass or any other 
substitute whatever in the large window- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 177 

frames. The articles of furniture were of the 
most rough and scanty description. There were 
no sheets on the beds, and for the usual cover- 
lids of blankets and a quilt, I had two or three 
rough, dark-coloured rugs; and in the morn- 
ing, from the total absence of basins, jugs, or 
any other preparations for washing in our 
rooms, we adopted the plan recommended to 
us as universally employed by travellers who 
take their night's lodging in the place, and 
performed all the functions for which water 
was requisite at a pump in the middle of the 
monastery yard. 

We set out on our journey as early as we 
could, and passed through some scenery of the 
most varied description, often amidst fields 
surrounded with tall and formidable hedges of 
aloe-plants, stretching out their sharp and 
strong and spiked leaves in every direction, so 
as to make any inroad on the precinct which 
they guarded almost impossible, either for 
man or beast. The inhabitants are very poor 
and squalid. There has been scarcely such a 
thing as a separate cottage to be seen in 
any part of our journey, the population being 
crowded into the towns ^-according to the 
ancient custom of the country — partly from 
its unsettled state throughout, and especially 
on the sea- coast, from the danger of African 

H 



178 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



pirates. The beggars are very numerous. 
At one town where we halted a larger as- 
semblage of them was gathered together than 
ever I had seen collected at once in any 
coiintry which I have hitherto visited. I 
counted the ring* by which we were sur- 
rounded, on dismounting from our mules at 
the door of the inn, and found that the 
number of applicants for charity was not 
less than sixty, the large proportion of them 
being full-grown men and women. 

The olive-tree forms a very frequent object 
in the scenery. It is generally larger than those 
which we saw together in Provence and Italy. 
Another tree which adds much to the beauty 
and luxuriance of the fields and orchards is the 
carruba or bean-tree, bearing a long and 
sweet pod, much liked in this country. I 
have never seen any specimen of this fruit- 
tree elsewhere : and we looked at it with 
additional interest from the tradition attached 
to it (on the supposition of the word aKpiSeg 
meaning a vegetable production called locusts, 
and not the Kving insects) as having been the 
food of John the Baptist in the wilderness. 
This is a disputed point ; but the opinions in 
corroboration of the animal rather than the 
vegetable being meant are, I believe, the 
most numerous. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 179 



Among the verdant masses of foliage bor- 
dering the sea-shore we saw myrtles, pome- 
granates, oleanders, and a vast multitude of 
fair and fragrant herbs, unknown to us before 
as growing wild. They seemed richly to 
luxuriate in this semi-tropical region, and 
were very lovely objects. 

At one point of our journey our muleteers 
very unwisely led us straight across a large 
cultivated field. We had remonstrated with 
them on their course, and expressed our ap- 
prehensions of doing damage to the crop ; 
but they said no harm would ensue, and that 
the proprietor would have no objection what- 
soever to our making the short cut. The 
fact however proved very different ; for just 
as we had arrived at about the middle of the 
field, several armed horsemen rode down 
among us, and with angry voice and gesture 
complained of our proceedings. We, as we 
were fully justified, laid the blame entirely 
on our guides ; but as none of us spoke the 
language of the country well enough to se- 
cure comprehension, the dispute went on 
among us with some noise and vivacity. It 
was concluded in rather a singular manner. 
Our mules became excited by the animated 
conversation, or some other cause, and shewed 
themselves determined to take a practical 

N" 2 



180 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



part in the contest. Accordingly, they began 
rearing and kicking, and attempting to bite 
the animals of the opposite and native party. 
The suddenness and unexpected character of 
the attack quite discomposed their riders, 
who, I suppose, thought it not unlikely that 
they might suffer personally in the fray — 
at all events, that their horses would be no 
gainers. Whether they imagined that we 
and the muleteers had any share in encourag- 
ing this unexpected onslaught, I cannot say ; 
but certainly the remonstrants rode away 
with no little celerity, and bade us from a 
distance, with voices half alarmed and half 
angry, to make our way out as speedily as 
possible. 

We considered ourselves as satisfactorily 
quit of a somewhat unpleasant meeting, 
through the pugnacity of our fourfooted com- 
panions. 

The approach to Girgenti is very beautiful. 
It was known in old times by the very simi- 
lar name of Agrigentum, and now it is the 
scene of some of the fairest ruins, both as to 
their form and local position, which traveller's 
eye can behold in any quarter of the earth. 

They stand on a verdant ridge, or pro- 
longed rocky eminence, of varied and roman- 
tic character, which stretches along between 



EXTRACTS, ETC. SICILY. 181 

the sea and the modern town of Girgenti ; 
and though at a considerable distance both 
from the sea and the town, they are not too 
far for the combination of those objects in 
almost every view taken of them by a spec- 
tator, as he looks on the three temples crown- 
ing and adorning the above-mentioned ridge. 

One of the structures is called — from its 
immense size, and from that of the Caryati- 
des, or gigantic figures which form part of 
the building — il tempio dei Giganti ; and 
certainly the name is not undeservedly ap- 
plied. 

Its length outside is one hundred and 
twenty yards ; its breadth is forty-five yards, 
and its height thirty-three yards. The co- 
lumns at the bottom are fifteen feet in dia- 
meter : and a man can stand in one of the 
flutes so that a stick may cross him from one 
edge of the flute to that opposite, without 
at all touching his person. We tried this 
experiment. 

On the greensward in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the temple he enormous blocks 
and fragments of the building. Among these 
are gigantic Caryatides ; and in one instance 
a whole image is stretched out at full length. 
It must have been shaped and arranged in a 
recumbent posture by the care of some mo- 



182 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



dern antiquarians or others interested in the 
ruins, after its fall from the erect attitude of 
centuries, and, in all probability, after its 
dislocation and the dispersion of the limbs for 
many centuries more. I cannot explain the 
present appearance and formation of this 
marvellous figure in any way more likely to 
enable a reader to realize the sight, than by 
describing it as looking like a loose backbone 
of some enormous skeleton. One of the 
knobs or joints, making only a certain pro- 
portion of the thigh just above the knee, was 
lying a little out of its place. This caused 
a prominency of two or three inches on the 
one side, and a similar deficiency on the other 
side of the limb. In all probability this de- 
formity had been in existence ever since the 
giant was laid out on his present bed. One 
of our party exclaimed, while gazing on the 
figure, and noticing the partial dislocation, 
" Let us try whether we cannot set his leg 
a little better." This, however, was more 
easily said than effected ; and it was not ac- 
complished till after many efforts of no less 
than six travellers, all in the full strength of 
youth, (for we met two at the ruins, who 
heartily joined with us in our surgery, as 
executed on the stone,) aided by at least an 
equal number of guides and muleteers, that 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — SICILY. 183 



we were enabled to move the ponderous 
block, and make it assume its proper posi- 
tion in the arrangement of the prostrate 
giants leg. 

After having passed some hours amid these 
fair and spirit-stirring scenes of ancient mag- 
nificence, we retired to modern Girgenti for 
our night's lodging. The ascent into the 
place is steep and tedious ; but when once 
the traveller reaches the height on which it 
is built, the view beneath is glorious — includ- 
ing romantic ground broken into every shape, 
fields of teeming verdure, goodly and luxu- 
riant trees, the temples, just described, as the 
middle ground of the landscape, and in the 
distance the bright expanse of the boundless 
sea. I will not dwell on the many defi-. 
ciencies of our hostelry, nor on the abundance 
of pulci and cimaci, further than to say, that 
some of our party, with the view to defend 
themselves last night from the enemies to 
which I allude, resorted among other expe- 
dients to that of introducing their hands into 
stockings, which they tied with string tightly 
about their arms. However, on retiring to 
bed, two of them were so severely bitten, 
that they would endure it no longer. They 
ordered their mules in the middle of the 
night, and rode on to the next house of re- 



184 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



ception. I shall not easily forget the bold 
and fearless admission made in another place 
by a stout landlady as to the diminutive 
tenantry, of whom I saw numbers prepared 
to share my bed : Mi pare, Signor a, said 
I, die sono qui dei pulci. — Si, Signor, an- 
swered she, as she braved the charge, thrust- 
ing an arm on each side of her waist with 
a determined air, and speaking in that full 
sense of the freedom from all competition 
which the absence of any other tolerable inn 
within thirty miles produced — Si, Signor ! 
pulci assai, e cimaci ancora ! 

I was occupied during two hours last night 
with transcribing a kind of heroic song from 
the dictation of a native poet, or perhaps, 
more accurately speaking, a reciter of poetry, 
inasmuch as we had no specimens of compo- 
sition professedly original. He had been 
mentioned to us, on our arrival at Girgenti, 
as one in whose recitations we, like other 
travellers, might probably feel interested : 
and I was so much pleased with the cha- 
racter of an ode relative to Murat, for a time 
king of Naples, that after his performance 
was concluded I detained the bard, and en- 
deavoured to copy out the whole of the poem 
at his dictation. Many parts of it were very 
energetic and spirited : but from my inability 



EXTRACTS, ETC. PALERMO. 185 



to comprehend accurately the Sicilian patois 
or dialect in which it was composed, and 
from the many consequent breaks in the re- 
gularity of transcription, I was unable to ob- 
tain a copy adapted for print. 

I can add no more at present, and am glad 
to forward these notes. 



88. — From the same to the same. 

Palermo, May i, 1830. 

We left Girgenti the day after I sent you 
the last portion of my journal. The next 
objects of special interest which we visited 
were the ruined temples of Selinus or Seli- 
nuntium. They stand on a heath above the 
sea-shore, very desolate, but fragrant with all 
manner of aromatic herbs. There is no dwell- 
ing within a mile of them, and in all proba- 
bility the very locality of the ancient city 
would have been by this time unknown, and 
effaced altogether in the lapse of centuries, 
were it not for the mighty and beautiful ruins, 
amidst which it was our delight and privilege 
to repose and to wander on one of the love- 
liest days which ever brightened the sea and 
adorned the earth, as we gazed on the two 
elements before us, during the hours, only too 



186 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



short and fleeting, which we passed on the 
spot. 

The two chief characteristics of the rained 
temples are these : ist, their vast size, (on 
which I need not dwell, as in a great measure 
it would only be repeating what I stated 
about the kindred structures at Girgenti,) and 
2ndly, the strange, eccentric, and confused 
forms in which the columns, and indeed the 
whole structures, are thrown and pitched to- 
gether. I believe that there are no records of 
the cause which produced these effects. The 
general opinion however is, that these peculiar 
appearances are to be attributed to an earth- 
quake. No other force seems at all adequate 
to bring about that sort of confusion which 
prevails. The various layers forming the 
columns are shaken and disjointed, some more, 
some less ; this, too, whether the remains of 
the pillars stand erect, or whether they lean 
one against another, or against masses of 
overthrown stone. Those who remember the 
volcanic and quaking character of the soil 
throughout all Sicily, and who have had the 
opportimity of seeing the ruins with their 
own eyes, will, I think, give assent to this ac- 
count, as the probable cause of the mighty 
overthrow which must at some time or other 
have occurred. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. PALERMO. 187 



We saw clearly that metallic cramps were 
much used in constructing and strengthening 
these magnificent buildings. The metal has 
now been entirely removed, but the marks in 
the stone remain, and the cavities where they 
were attached. 

The lizards were very abundant, peeping 
sometimes out of the crevices in the stone, 
and at other times seen basking in the full 
rays of the sun. The guides warned us to be 
careful of the snakes ; but we met none, 
though the thick, heathery, flowery, aromatic 
masses of vegetation which we trod beneath 
our feet seemed admirably fitted as places for 
their haunt. We had, however, one very lu- 
dicrous scene. 

We had often heard of scorpions, as being 
occasionally met with in Sicily, although very 
rare. None of our party had ever seen one in 
its wild state, which we were all very anxious 
to do, and during our journey we had strictly 
enjoined our guides to give us any opportunity 
of seeing one of these curious animals. How- 
ever, as we were sitting at our mid-day meal 
in the centre of these dilapidated fragments 
and columns, one of the muleteers suddenly 
and eagerly exclaimed, as he gazed intently 
into the chink of a column about level with 
his eyes, Signori ! Signori ! and on our com- 



188 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



ing up, he said that he had seen a scorpion 
basking in the sun on the edge of the chink, 
and that it had just retreated to the interior. 
The hole was deep, and two or three inches 
wide. On our examining the rest of the 
stone-work, we saw that there was no other 
way of exit, by which any such animal could 
escape, so we all gathered close up, and one 
of our company having a stick in his hand, 
thrust it in, with the endeavour to dislodge 
the reptile. After he had been at this work 
for a few seconds, and while the whole party 
was staring in, with their faces in a semicircle, 
gazing eagerly into the chink at a few inches 
distance, all at once the aggressor of the scor- 
pion dashed back with the exclamation, " Here 
it comes ! " and in an instant two small eyes 
glared upon us, and a complete panic ensued 
from a large and exasperated rat rushing forth 
in our faces. Every head ducked down most 
rapidly before the unexpected enemy, and I 
must say that he put us all for the moment 
to flight. The rat escaped in the heath and 
verdure around, and no scorpion could be sub- 
sequently dislodged. But our sudden dis- 
persion at the unexpected sally gave us no 
little amusement. 

The temple at Segesta, the third and last 
of those KTrjuara es_ aet, which Grecian art has 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — PALERMO. 189 

bequeathed to this island, as a charm and a 
marvel for all who visit its shores with the 
smallest capacity of apprehending their gran- 
deur and their beauty, lies but little out of 
the way from Selinus to Palermo. This noble 
edifice has its own local and architectural 
attractions, distinct altogether from those 
which met us at Girgenti and Selinus, and 
claimed our attention just as much as if we 
had never visited the two other kindred scenes 
about which I have already written to you. 

The temples at Girgenti occupy a narrow, 
grassy ridge, and none of them are by any 
means so perfect as the temple at Segesta ; 
while the ruins of Selinus stand on a flat, 
though elevated heath, and are still more 
dilapidated than those at Girgenti. But the 
locality of Segesta is that of a lofty eminence 
in the shape of a conical hill, surrounded by a 
deep valley, extending itself on three sides of 
its height. The circumference of this valley 
is bounded by hills still loftier than that 
crowned by the temple, so that the effect of 
the position is very peculiar, and in some 
degree may remind one of the passage hi the 
Psalms, " the hills stand about Jerusalem/' 

At the point of usual approach, an ascend- 
ing ridge or platform, covered with verdant 
turf, brought us by an easy ascent right in 



190 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



front of the temple. Stri kin g as the sight 
was while we gazed at the structure from a 
distance, more striking still did it appear, as a 
nearer access enabled us accurately to observe 
its grandeur and beauty, and the remarkable 
state of preservation in which it still rears up 
its graceful and commanding form. On this 
latter point, viz. good preservation, you may 
not unfavourably compare it with the ruins at 
Paestum : and it appeared to me that this 
Sicilian stone bore some resemblance to that 
employed there. Its durability is quite ex- 
traordinary. The columns stand erect, each 
in its own position, as they were originally 
placed. The pediment too and the entablature 
remain, without any derangement, and scarcely 
touched by time, while the edges and corners 
of the stonework still retain their sharpness, 
as if the builder's tool had struck and chiselled 
them only a few days ago. No remains of the 
ancient town of Segesta could tell us any- 
thing whatever relating to its form, size, or 
position : but it must have been near : and 
where a city once stood, there cattle and 
sheep and goats were feeding in vast num- 
bers around, and no figures appeared in our 
sight except those in whose company we came 
hither, and the few shepherds tending their 
flocks and herds, and dressed in garments 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — PALERMO. 191 

almost as natural and rude as the very skins 
and fleeces of their charge. 

After quitting this impressive locality, we 
rode onwards towards Palermo, and slept for 
the night at Alcamo, a town about thirty 
miles from this fair and populous city, whence 
I write these lines. 

As we approached Palermo we entered a 
region called by that most poetical and well-de- 
served name the Concha d'oro, or the "Golden 
shell," a name given partly from the shape of 
the sloping and extensive hollow shelving 
downwards towards Palermo and the sea, and 
partly from the colour of the orange trees, 
with which so large a portion of this region is 
clothed. But it is not the orange alone which 
the Concha d'oro rears in such profusion and 
splendour on its teeming and genial soil. For 
besides the more ordinary productions, which 
you know so well as a traveller in southern 
Europe, and here growing and blooming and 
ripening in one mass of unrivalled richness 
and plenty, each step of our way brought us 
among figs and olives, and hedges of the aloe, 
and acacias, and palm trees, and fair climbing 
plants, waving their foliage in every eccentric 
form on each slope or bank which we skirted 
on our course. And great was our enjoyment 
as we rode on with such delicious sights im- 



192 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



mediately around us, in an atmosphere of 
fragrance such as Sicily alone, of any countries 
which I have ever yet traversed, can afford : 
and when we looked up from this encompass- 
ing loveliness, we saw spread before us the 
fair city of Palermo stretching its symmetrical 
form along the seashore — and beyond it was 
the blue expanse of the Mediterranean sea, 
not distmbed or agitated, nor, on the other 
hand, dull and motionless, but just playing to 
the sunbeams in spangles of silvery hue. I 
wish you had been with us to see the lovely 
sight, but am glad even to tell you about it. 

A long straight road leads into Palermo, 
which is one of the most splendidly located 
cities on the face of the earth. The Concha 
(V oro sweeps behind it in a semicircular form, 
of a size sufficient to suit the extensive and 
populous city, but not so far distant, in any 
part of its cncumference, as to be vague and 
indistinct in its outline. The city itself lies 
on the margin of the sea, and a very consider- 
able breadth of ground extends between the 
houses and the water. Next to the shore is 
a quay, then a public walk, then a public 
drive, and then a public garden, very orna- 
mentally arranged, and presenting every at- 
traction which such a scene could afford. As 
may be supposed, this ' marina 5 is the most 



EXTRACTS, ETC. PALERMO. 193 

choice and favourite resort of the higher classes 
of the Palermitans, as well as of foreign tra- 
vellers. Close at hand are a few fine and 
extensive palaces belonging to Sicilian noble- 
men. Some of them possess very large for- 
tunes. 

From this quay we enjoyed a delightful 
view of the whole harbour. It is not by any 
means so extensive as that of Naples ; but 
I should not be at all surprised at some con- 
sidering it even more beautiful. The horns 
or ulnce of the bay, formed of massive and 
sloping hills, with ridges of dark rock, make a 
very graceful bend, as they enclose a portion 
of the sea, and thus naturally effect that ex- 
tensive port or shelter, from whence the 
ancient name of this city, Panormus, was 
derived. 

The town is also very symmetrical, being 
arranged in the shape of a cross. In the 
centre, where the two main streets meet, is 
an open space, from whence you may look, in 
four different directions, to the very end of 
the city. The fact is very remarkable, when 
we remember its extent and population, not 
less, I believe, than 200,000 souls. In three 
of these four directions the eye can look 
through as many gates into the country be- 

o 



194 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



yond. In the other direction, the view is 
towards the sea. 

I fear that we shall be obliged to leave this 
beautiful place sooner than we could have 
wished, on account of the departure of the 
steamboat ; but whether we go or not, I will 
soon write again. 

89. — From the same to the same. 

Victoria Hotel, Naples, May 6, 1830. 
We arrived from the Sicilian tour on 
Saturday evening, but the present is the first 
post which gives me the opportunity of tell- 
ing you that we have finished it with success, 
and without missing much of superior inter- 
est, though the time of our remaining there 
was short. The beautiful capital, Palermo, 
deserved more time and examination than 
we were able to give, but the steam packet 
started inexorably to the day and moment. 
The tour fully answered our anticipations, 
(high as they were,) from the singularity and 
beauty of the scenery, the pecuharity of the 
inhabitants, the semi-barbarous mode of travel 
and accommodation, and the surpassing in- 
terest of the ruins, with their appendages of 
trees, waves, and glorious scenic panoramas. 
The objects of attention were so well divided 



EXTRACTS, ETC. SICILY. 195 

about the island that no day passed without 
its attractions. Messina and Palermo are 
superb towns, with every appearance of 
wealth and prosperity. Catania is finely 
built, but apparently poor ; and in every 
other part of the island the inhabitants are 
miserably poor, and ragged — having in their 
mouths one continual complaint of the ex- 
tortion practised upon them in taxes, while 
those who are more enlightened declaim 
against the prohibitory system with regard 
to exportation of their abundant produce. 
And no wonder : for this extraordinary island 
teems with every thing that can be wanted 
for use or luxury, and casts forth the most 
beautiful weeds and flowers as something 
superadded to, and not interfering with, the 
crops. Besides corn and fruit in the utmost 
plenty (the former without manure), there is 
cotton, sulphur, silk, amber, salt, metal and 
marble mines, manna, saffron, alum, vitriol, 
agates, emeralds, and aromatic herbs of every 
description. In the midst of all this richness, 
the small population is miserable in appear- 
ance ; and as for money, no such thing (at 
least visibly) stirs, except what is brought by 
travellers. Two or three times we found no 
inn whatsoever, and accordingly went to the 
Capuchin monks, who did their best for us, 

O 2 



196 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



but could not do much, being themselves 
(according to their own description) " beggars 
of beggars/' The worst was, that their abodes 
were dreadfully dirty, and the fleas were ab- 
solutely hopping about the rooms like dust. 
Indeed cimachi and pulchi are the real evil of 
a Sicilian tour. 

Some of our party suffered from them 
so much, as to pass whole nights with very 
little sleep — a very serious matter on a 
journey when the daily fatigue required the 
body to be in its best state. They disregarded 
me altogether, and for this I was an object 
of great envy to my companions. I have been 
very careful in forwarding to you notices of 
our progress during the whole time, as I 
thought it well worth while in a country 
which has not been so completely ransacked 
as many others even of minor interest, — and 
I have always looked on Sicily with peculiar 
interest, partly from that cause, partly from 
its Grecian inhabitants, and partly from its 
present declina. in the midst of the full luxu- 
riance of natural beauty : " Teneris concep- 
tus ab annis Mecum crevit amor." And now 
I have had the privilege of enjoying to the 
full my early anticipations. For which I am 
very thankful. We leave this with Angle- 
sani* to-morrow, and hope to join you in Borne 
* A well known vetturino of the day. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. GENEVA. 197 

almost as soon as this letter will arrive, but 
I did not wish to miss the opportunity of 
writing a few words. We did not receive 
any letter from you in Sicily ; but the whole 
system of the Sicilian post office is so ludi- 
crous that I did not wonder at it. 

The Editor had gone for a few days to 
Rome, and had returned again to Naples, 
with the intention of passing a few weeks 
more amidst those lovely scenes, of which, 
as yet, he had not had a sufficiency. 

90.— From his Father to F. T. 

Geneva, May 13th, 1830. 
We made an excursion hither from Lau- 
sanne, (which is on our direct road to Paris,) 
in the steam-boat, and return by the same 
conveyance in an hour, having passed the 
latter part of yesterday and the night here. 
Our journey has been very prosperous hither- 
to, and the passage of the Simplon, which oc- 
cupied eight hours, so easy, that good horses 
might trot up or down without danger. As 
a great work, it disappointed me. The road 
we came by Nice- presents much more diffi- 
culty, and if equally well executed, as to 
breadth of road and defences, will surprise 
more. Perhaps the science displayed in over- 
coming the difficulties of the Simplon pre- 



198 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



vents one from seeing how much was to have 
been overcome. We remained five days at 
Venice, living mostly in a gondola, which is 
a delightful lazy conveyance — one moves 
without hearing, feeling, or seeing any effort 
— the gondolier standing behind out of sight, 
and with a single noiseless oar drives vou on 
with great rapidity. The houses and palaces 
are all neglected, except on the Piazza of St. 
Mark, and seem descending into the element 
from whence they were so wondrously raised. 
The Piazza is very different from and much 
superior to what I expected — a mixture of 
eastern and Gothic of the richest materials, of 
a style of mediaeval architecture anterior to 
any which I have seen. The Venetian nobility 
are s unk to the lowest state of destitution. 
Some hundred of them receive, as I was in- 
formed, a franc a day from the emperor, to keep 
them from starving. Our laquais de place 
had lived as courier to Lord Byron. He spoke 
much of his talents, but said he was " molto 
capriccioso." From Venice, or rather from 
Bologna, we travelled through the most fer- 
tile and (so far as the beauties of fertility go) 
the finest country, with the nearest successioD 
of most beautiful towns I ever saw, to the 
base of the Simplon. We stopped a day at 
Milan, and a few hours at some of the other 



EXTRACTS, ETC. GENEVA. 199 

towns where there was any thing worth see- 
ing. If you pass through Milan, do not omit 
going on the top of the cathedral. Exter- 
nally it appears to me infinitely superior to 
St. Peters — all built of white marble and 
covered with the same material. After pass- 
ing the Simplon we found ourselves in quite 
a different country — more resembling Eng- 
land in its productions. The tops of the 
mountains on each side were covered with 
snow. Vevay and Lausanne are very beauti- 
ful. Do not forget to make an excursion in the 
steam-boat, or otherwise, on the Como Lake, 
and a day, if you can manage it, at Baveno 
on the Lago Maggiore. But my time for de- 
parture arrives, and I must think of sealing 
my letter. We hoped to have had a letter 
from you at Venice, but suppose we travel- 
led too fast. I hope you are now enjoying 
Naples as much as I wish, and that you have 
met some agreeable friends. The weather 
was very cold in crossing the Simplon, and 
is still chilly. We are surrounded by snow 
on the tops of the mountains. Your intended 
course will complete your circle of Italy, and 
bring you to some very interesting scenes on 
the Eastern coast. Bemember me kindly to 
all friends at Naples, and believe me ever, 
dearest F , &c. &c. 



200 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



91.— From F. T. to his Father. 

Naples, May 21st, 1830. 

I received a letter of yours from Geneva, 
but that was the last which reached me from 
you. I know no better plan than to send 
this to England, as I believe that you in- 
tended travelling without much delay, and 
letters sent to one town cannot be forwarded 
unless you have some person to call for them 
and pay postage. Accordingly, if you have 
not received mine which I wrote to Venice, 
I imagine the postmaster will have by this 
time denounced me as a carbonaro or trea- 
sonable liberal for my remarks on the state 
trial now proceeding here, &c. &c. 

I have taken rooms out of the town of 
Naples in a cool and beautiful situation. Do 
you remember the Strada Nova, Murat s grand 
work, which ascends the hill of Posilippo, and 
winds along the right horn of the Bay ? My 
apartment is at a house which stands on 
the left side of the road, and the foundations 
are washed by the sea. The view includes 
Naples, Portici, Vesuvius, Castellamare, Sor- 
rento, and Capri, and at sunset presents a 
scene of remarkable beauty, with the light 
fumes of Vesuvius melting into the calm 
transparent purple atmosphere. For four 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — NAPLES. 201 



days, however, last week, there was a sulky 
sirocco, which obscured every object with a 
cloud of slate-coloured dust. Every leaf was 
covered with a light ashy substance, supposed 
to have come from Etna ; but it is not yet 
ascertained in Naples whether there has been 
an eruption there or not ; and the natives 
are not more zealous about the physical or 
atmospherical, than about the political state 
of the country. 

I get up early in the morning for a very 
tolerable Italian master, though not equal to 
Incoronati, who certainly deserves the crown 
of his profession : but, however, there is one 
very needful supplement to the teacher here — 
an excellent library — rich in every language, 
and kept by an old French lady, who would 
ornament the bluest coterie of London. While 
handing down a book, she gives me an ana- 
lysis of its contents — and, singularly enough, 
she has works of the most prohibited nature, 
and yet is not interfered with by the police, 
although so much is generally said on Nea- 
politan severity as to authorship, and on the 
difficulty of introducing a book expressing 
the least doubt of things being best as they 
are. I believe the government is so firm in 
its seat as to be very indifferent to the small 
amount of effect which literature has on the 



202 



ORIGINAL LETTERS. 



Neapolitans — by no means a reading public, 
and much more likely to be roused by a tax on 
ice or fruit than the writings of a Voltaire. 

I was much amused by reading in the 
papers that revolutionary disturbances had 
taken place here. Nothing could be more 
ludicrous than such a report, notwithstand- 
ing the long protracted absence of the king 
and the death of the prime minister. The 
government is too well supported by Swiss 
mercenary troops, with Austrian auxiliaries 
as a reserve in case of necessity. We expect 
dailv to see the death of the English kin g. 
I dare say the Duke of Clarence, though ec- 
centric now, will make a very good ruler. 
Wonderful developement of capacity some- 
times comes with the need and call for it. 

Xon si tosto il Lion fa eletto re, 
Che un non so che di dignita celeste 
Lo circondb. lo penetrb, gli die 
Maesta tal, che in lui creduto avreste 
Esser in nuova hiesplicabil guisa 
Seguita metamorfosi iniprovvisa. 

It will be annoying to me to get mourning 
here, after having established what I con- 
sidered a sufficiency of clothes for my travel- 
ling wardrobe ; and the Neapolitan tailors are 
so indifferent as to their honor in supplying 
good materials and good work, that it is quite 



EXTRACTS, ETC. NAPLES. 203 

vexatious. A person might go forth in the 
morning a well-dressed man and come home 
in tatters, with boots splitting and seams 
opening all about him, like an old ship in a 
storm. But what can be expected of trades- 
men who shut up their shops and take a long 
siesta of two hours in the middle of the day 1 
Alternately indolent and energetic, their in- 
dolence is profound, and their energy wastes 
itself in noise and unmeaning action. I sup- 
pose they are as destitute of manufactures or 
commercial enterprise as any people of Eu- 
rope, and there is scarcely a native vessel 
ever to be seen, though the grand bay, con- 
tinually before their eyes, seems to invite 
them to maritime adventure, and a walk 
along the beach would give a choice of crews 
innumerable, all ready to embark for the 
smallest pay. 

I have been to Capua and Nola. Capua 
has an amphitheatre, which, to my astonish- 
ment, I found as big as the Colosseum, and 
calculated to have held eighty thousand per- 
sons. Drury Lane, I believe, holds two thou- 
sand five hundred. At Nola there is nothing 
to see, but the country around presents won- 
derful richness. I picked an oat above six 
feet high, and the vines are hanging in 
bunches of leaves and tendrils among the 



204 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



corn, while the props are absolutely mulberry 
trees, supplying leaves for the silk worm. 

As to parties, there is very little going on. 
I have been to the Duchess d/Eboli s and the 
Duke Teodoro s. The duke gave a very mag- 
nificent ball, with large rooms metamorphosed 
into bowers, fountains playing, gold fish 
swimming, and revolving tables to offer va- 
rious sorts of ices ! There are not many 
English in the town. Mr. Henry De Eos is 
gone. I dined in his company one day, and 
thought his manners very pleasing. Morier, 
the author of Hajji Baba remains, and I often 
see him. Sir W. Gell is expected, to whom 
I shall soon be introduced. 

The trial of a praetor or governor in Cala- 
bria and his accomplices is proceeding, and 
it is generally supposed that the numerous 
charges of cruelty, plunder, and persecution 
will be brought home to him. Whether he 
will be executed depends on the will of the 
king, which is oddly enough denominated 
The Royal Verification. I was in the court 
a few days ago and saw the proceedings. 
There was something very curious in the 
character and situation of the five prisoners, 
who were placed side by side on an elevated 
seat. The first was the governor of the pro- 
* vince, a man of high rank and influence — 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — NAPLES. 205 

the two next, his friends and accomplices — 
the fourth, his secretary — the fifth, a bravo, 
accused of committing with his own hand the 
murders and cruelties intrusted to his care. 
These men have been five years in prison, 
while every species of intimidation, intrigue, 
and bribery has been tried in their behalf 
during all that time. I was told that it was 
owing to the spirit and decision of the young 
prince that their trial even now has come on. 

I mean to leave this in less than a month, 
and visit leisurely the scenes of Eastern and 
Northern Italy previous to entering Switzer- 
land. Perhaps you would be so kind as to 
write me a letter to Florence. I hope you 
have had a pleasant journey, and to hear 
what you would recommend me as to the 
route in Switzerland. How I should have 
liked to have gone to take a look at Greece, 
now that her hopes of reinstatement are 
something more than a poetical and vision- 
ary affair ! 



92. — From the same to the same. 

Loretto, July 17th, 1830. 
Though I date my letter from this cele- 
brated shrine, I have not come here on a 
pilgrimage, nor turned Romanist after my 
protracted stay in Italy. The fact was, I had 



206 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



no slight curiosity about several objects in 
this neighbourhood, which induced me to cross 
Italy to the Adriatic shore by Foligno and 
Tolentino. I took a place in a vetturinos 
carriage from Rome to Venice, and though he 
travels very slowly and tediously, yet I think 
I should have been compensated for quitting 
the usual wake of travelling English, had it 
not been for the extreme heat, which came on 
the very day that I began my journey. The 
thermometer at Rome was at 93, and the heat 
since has but slightly diminished. 

We travel very early in the morning and 
very late in the evening. The vetturinos and 
waiters fan themselves with large fans vi- 
gorously and assoiduously, and the natives 
drop asleep in a moment on the barest stones. 
In fact, a few days in really hot southern 
weather form quite a chapter in one's ex- 
perience of life, and absolutely give one new 
criterions and new grounds to form a correct 
opinion of national character. I am sure that 
if Doctor Johnson had walked under the 
leaden cloak of a July sirocco, he would never 
have declared weather to have no effect on 
the mind, although his nerves might have 
defied a fog. However, I take up arms against 
Apollo, and feel a good deal of enthusiasm for 
the scenes around me, and before me — for 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LORETTO. 207 

Loretto, the strongest hold of Christian su- 
perstition and credulity, for Ancona, the Ru- 
bicon, the Metaurum, (where in fact Rome 
was saved from the Carthaginians,) for the 
scenes of the strange mediaeval Italian politics 
described in Machiavel, and of the French 
triumphs at a late date. I shall also pass San 
Marino to-morrow, a little republic, founded 
by a mason 1300 years since, and inviolate in 
its laws and constitution to the present day, 
as it was spared by Buonaparte, and strength- 
ened by him, either from fancy or principle. 
It occupies one hill, surrounded by the pope's 
territory, and is quite Athenian in its demo- 
cratic jealousy. I shall to-morrow see Rimini, 
illustrious to the stranger from Dante s love- 
story of Francesca, as Pisa is from his tragic 
lines on Ugolino. 

I remained at Naples rather longer than 
was in my plan, partly detained by the beauty 
and fascination of its locality and neighbour- 
ing scenes, and partly from finding myself 
on terms of easy acquaintance with some 
we]l-bred Italians and well-informed country- 
men. The former bore some of the grandest 
and most sonorous titles. They were most of 
them rather monotonous in character, but gay 
and obliging in their manners, and quite 
devoid of any affectation or exclusiveness — a 



208 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



word indeed which they would be totally un- 
able to comprehend, but which is only too 
well understood (and not without cause) in 
England. They listened to my bad French 
with the greatest politeness, and never missed 
an opportunity of offering any little service in 
their power. They seemed generally effemi- 
nate, much afraid of heat and horses, stared 
when books were mentioned, and endeavoured 
to shake off as quickly as possible any allusions 
to the political state of their country. At 
this I do not wonder. Such a formal, uncon- 
ciliating, expensive, ostentatious, military de- 
spotism as that of Naples I cannot imagine, 
or at least could not have done so before I 
lived in the country. The whole court is re- 
gulated on the strictest system of ancient 
Spanish etiquette. 

All the country about Naples was teeming 
with the most verdant and plenteous fertility, 
and might truly be called " Campania felice." 
The vines hung matted and massed together 
in enormous festoons. The oats and bearded 
wheat were frequently six feet high, and the 
streets were crowded with the most luxurious 
fruits at the price of the smallest coin, figs 
one halfpenny, and peaches one penny a dozen. 
The sea-fruit, or " frutti del mare," (which is 
the indigenous word for shell-fish,) rivalled 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LORETTO. 209 

their land brethren, and were heaped up in 
the markets profusely, and in most curious 
forms. 

Since I left that territory the country has 
very much deteriorated in richness, but I be- 
lieve Lombardy is not inferior. The cultiva- 
tion in this district (the March of Ancona) 
is extremely neat, and one occasionally sees a 
country-house, rare as a black swan in most 
parts of Italy. 

The vetturino has given us here a longer al- 
lowance of time than usual, in order to see the 
Santa Casa, and to allow his Roman passen- 
gers to derive such advantage as the sanctity of 
the place may confer. I see no pilgrims either 
with raw or boiled peas, (as in Gay's fable,) 
nor any of the princes and grandees, who used 
to crowd the place in ancient days ; but it was 
holy ground to our ancestors, and is holy 
ground to all the uneducated, and many edu- 
cated, of the Romish church. The legend is, 
that the house where Mary and Joseph lived, 
and where the virgin was visited by the angel, 
was carried miraculously to a grove in the 
spot where I now write, in the 1 3th century. 
The house stands at present in the middle of 
a large Gothic church, and is about fifteen 
yards by ten, cased with marble sculpture on 
the outside, but left in its original state of 



210 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



bare brick within, all blackened with the 
fumes of seventy lamps continually burning, 
Its treasures were partly taken forcibly by 
the French, and partly in an indirect manner 
by the treaty of Tolentino, when the pope 
was obliged to lay hands on them to pay the 
stipulated exactions. At present there remain 
but a few jewels, cups and candlesticks, but 
there is a revenue of £14,000 a year, spent 
on priests, pilgrims, hospital, dispensary, &c, 
and they are not endeavouring again to amass 
idle and inactive treasures. The schoolmaster 
has been abroad, and told them the absurdity 
of their previous plans. Among their ancient 
possessions was a statue of Louis Fourteenth 
(while an infant) in gold. He was carried in 
the arms of a silver angel. His mother, as a 
complete devotee, gave this curious article, 
and probably it never struck her that humility 
would at least have transposed the metals, 
and put the angel in gold, the child in silver. 
It might almost be taken as an illustration of 
the French court in those days. 

I hope that I shall not be excommunicated 
at home, as an idolater, for buying some of 
the relics. The vetturino summons me to 
proceed to Ancona, eighteen miles off, a, drive 
of about five hours, his horses being very un- 
like those of Achilles or Phaethon. I am by 



EXTRACTS, ETC. ANCONA. 211 

no means sorry to quit the laurel-grove, (Lau- 
retto or Loretto,) as it is by no means devoid 
of fleas and other animalculse. Notwithstand- 
ing the tediousness of the travel, I think it a 
better plan than galloping through such cities 
and localities. I argued some time with my- 
self between the post and the veturino, and, 
notwithstanding sundry inconveniences, am 
not so absurd as to complain of the coat which 
I cut out for myself, and must therefore make 
the best of my present course. 



93. — From the same to the same. 

Ancona, July 19, 1830. 
The English consul has just sent me the 
GalignanT s of several days. I was previously 
quite in arrear. The distress and tumults in 
Ireland have given me great regret, but I feel 
the greatest wish to be there, instead of con- 
gratulating myself on being absent, according 
to the bad, ship-quitting, rat-like spirit, against 
which one should be watchful, as one grows 
up to fresh claims and responsibilities. To 
maintain and increase patriotism we should 
dwell for a little in a country like this, and see 
the ruin, physical and moral, which its absence 
effects. I am now most anxious to change 
the sleepy and waveless calm of these dra- 
p 2 



212 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



gooned countries for the stirring political 
atmosphere of my own — to change the Diario 
di Roma or Gazette of Naples for the Chroni- 
cle or the Evening Post. Naples certainly 
deserves its ancient name of " otiosa." I could 
hardly summon up resolution to leave it, 
though I knew scarcely why. Once however 
on my route, I am heartily desirous to be at 
home, though without any despondency or 
undervaluation of the scenes which I pass 
through ; nor am I at all cold or negligent as 
to their effect ; but I feel the natural wish to 
be again among friends and relations, in a 
word, at home, though I shall always have to 
look back with the most lively interest on the 
many objects I have had presented to me this 
year from Connemara and Killarney to Etna 
and Vesuvius. When I have visited Venice, 
and the towns of northern Italy, which lie in 
my course to Switzerland, I shall have tra- 
velled amply to last me for some time, and shall 
be very glad to quit the mental epicureanism 
of Italian reveries and Italian literature for a 
more manly course of study, and a more manly 
tone of society than is to be found among its 
play-discussing, dress-complimenting inhabit- 
ants. I am very grateful to you for the per- 
mission you gave me to remain and satisfy 
my curiosity to a fuller extent than would 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — COMO. 213 

have been allowed me otherwise. I hope that 
Venice instead of Florence was chosen to send 
me a letter, as I have missed Florence, and 
am acquainted with nobody there to get one 
forwarded to me in case it should be at the 
post. With Ancona I am rather disappointed, 
as I had expected some highly-preserved an- 
tiquities, and also a more busy commercial 
town. There is only one arch, much inferior 
to those at Rome, and the people seem all 
asleep, instead of doing mercantile business. 

I have not the least idea where you or R 

may be at present, but I shall direct this to 
Brockley Park. I expect to be in England in 
about six weeks, passing through Geneva, and 
then up the Rhine, after a few walks in Swit- 
zerland. I will write again from Venice. 



94. — From the same to the same. 

Como, August 2, 1830. 

Being now on the confines of Italy, I take 
advantage of this quiet and beautiful spot to 
give you an account of my progress, and to 
fill the present sheet, veritably charta peri- 
tura, if I may judge from its thin and misera- 
ble appearance. However, I hope it will last 
till it reaches you, but I really have not the 
least idea where you are, as I found no letter 

I 



214 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



at Venice or Milan, whither I directed any 
one to be forwarded that might have been 
sent to Florence. 

I have had a very interesting journey since 
I wrote to you from Ancona, through a suc- 
cession of fine and prosperous towns, which 
have very much improved my opinion of 
Italian industry and comfort. The character 
of Ferrara and Venice need only be excepted, 
and in them one sought other attractions. I 
was prepared for the plague-like desolation of 
the first and the crumbling beauty of the 
latter. Pray take a good map, and look at 
my exploits in travel. I have taken a course 
of nearly eight hundred miles since the 8th of 
July, and have been repaid in every part, 
particularly now that the heat has become 
moderate. Since I left Venice, it has not been 
oppressive. 

My journey has been pursued in every 
mode of conveyance, from the immense boat 
in which I floated slowly down the Po and 
across the Venetian lagunes, to an occasional 
gallop with the courier. From Ancona to 
Rimini, in itself no short drive, the road was 
perpetually on a line of smooth sand, bounded 
by the blue waters of the Adriatic. The whole 
coast is evidently a Scopov 7reXayov f and, though 
somewhat monotonous, yet was very refresh- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — €0M0. 215 



ing to one escaping from the dominion of the 
sirocco. Besides this, it offers a succession of 
small comfortable towns, with curious build- 
ings for the antiquary, and souvenirs for the 
historian. I also came at the season of an 
important fair at Sinigaglia, still renowned 
and frequented from most parts of Europe, 
although degenerate from its former import- 
ance. There seemed even now an immensity of 
business, and the fair nymphs of the Adriatic 
pulled me into their shops without the least 
ceremony, being very anxious to convert a 
speculative looker-on into a purchaser. The 
worst of this district is the intolerable water. 
The poorest person will not touch it without 
inspiriting it, notwithstanding the usual Ita- 
lian temperance. One of the natives brought 
a severe accusation on the apiaTov liSwp, or 
first of elements, though perhaps the force of 
Italian language expressed more than was 
meant, as when they talk in the papers of 
of sugar being in profunda pace, i. e. re- 
maining at the same price. In fact, the warn- 
ing voice of my fellow-traveller said it would 
give the plague ! ! ! 

I have recently crossed the Metaurum, 
where Claudius stopped Hannibal's proud 
letters to Carthage, 

<c Carthagini jam non ego nuntios 
Mittam superbos — " 



216 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



and a little ' further on the Rubicon, or rather 
two Rubicons, if we listen to the disputes of 
two neighbouring towns. The one who has 
the worst cause talks loudest, that is, on 
stone, and has built an immense stone pillar, 
affirming in the most categorical terms that 
the Rubicon flows under the bridge on which 
this monument is erected. It is a muddy 
stream of one yard wide, frequented by water 
rats and ducklings. The other is a real and 
respectable river, and received my vote as to 
authenticity, more from my unwillingness to 
obliterate a juvenile recollection of Caesar and 
his mounted comrades dashing sword-in-hand 
into a torrent, than from any more precise 
grounds. I dare say you remember the pic- 
ture in a little square red book of our nursery. 

From Rome to Bologna I had as companions 
two Roman Catholic priests, who had just fin- 
ished a long course of theological study at 
Rome, and were proceeding to take charge of 
parishes in England. They were well informed 
in general literature, and I liked their society 
far better than that of my next fellow-tra- 
veller, who accompanied me from Bologna to 
Venice. He was a young soldier, fresh from 
Malta, who bored me by the account of his 
own and the mess exploits ; not the bubble 
reputation at the cannon's mouth, but at 
the porter-bottle and on the tandem seat. I 



EXTRACTS, ETC. COMO. 217 



quickly established a character for unsocia- 
bility, particularly as the " grass-grown and 
symmetrical" streets of Ferrara were not 
exactly the place where I was anxious to be 
much occupied about the larking captain and 
his splendid troop. Even the young hero felt 
the effect caused by Tasso s dungeon and the 
melancholy town. 

Everybody has some private theory on the 
poet's confinement and alleged insanity, and I 
have mine : which is, that he became really very 
irritable on Alphonso's insisting that he should 
write the history of the house of Este when 
he wished to be at his poem ; and we may 
suppose how trying it must be for a poet to 
be turned into an herald's office-clerk. Ac- 
cordingly, he shewed signs of what they called 
madness, insulted his haughty patron, and was 
also less scrupulous as to Leonora. Ergo, Al- 
phonso became angry, shut him up, and said 
it was for his good. I copied his handwriting 
and that of Ariosto s. Tasso s certainly bears 
indications of a trembling and distressed hand 
— fancy might add, of a dark dungeon. Ari- 
osto s, on the contrary, is well-formed and 
confident. 

Near Ferrara I embarked on board a boat 
for Venice, being curious to examine the pe- 
culiar districts watered by the Po and the 



218 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Adige, where land and water are in a per- 
petual combat for dominion, and where water 
would certainly get the better, if man was not 
the ally of land by building immense ram- 
parts against the water. It must be a curious 
scene when they " put the rivers under guard," 
(the phrase of the country,) that is, station 
men all along the dykes day and night, in 
time of high floods, to repair any mischief that 
might occur. 

The Po was large, slow, and stupid. Indeed 
" Fluviorum Rex Eridanus" is not generally a 
very interesting stream. 

After winding along rivers, canals, and la- 
gunes, we arrived within ten miles of Venice 
at night-fall, when a storm came on with ex- 
treme violence, and we went on shore near the 
Porto Malomocco, and grounded, (with perfect 
indifference on the part of the crew,) on the 
long strip of land which forms the eastern 
boundary of the lagune. Though I had to 
sleep in the rudest shed on a bag of straw, 
still I was rather glad of the accident in the 
end, as we entered Venice the next morning 
with peculiar advantage, sailing directly up to 
quay at St. Mark s, and then turning to the 
left among the beautiful palaces and delicate 
architecture of the Grand Canal. A brisk 
wind gave life and spirit to the water even in 



EXTRACTS, ETC. VENICE. 



219 



the middle of the town, though afterwards I 
saw it as sluggish and unattractive as the 
most disparaging traveller could desire. 

Venice has no reading-room, nor a single 
place where a book can be got concerning the 
town or its history and recollections. Even in 
the public library I could not get a Shake- 
speare ; and as for Sismondi or Daru, I might 
as well have asked for the Emperor of Aus- 
tria's head. So sharp is the government in 
trying to catch the young fry of liberal litera- 
ture, and prevent them growing into sharks, 
that every month a list of forbidden books 
comes down from Vienna, and is sent round 
these dominions. I completely lost my tem- 
per on the subject, and went off in the sulks, 
fully convinced that the wildest excesses of 
faction are not worse than the servitude call- 
ed established order and tranquillity by those 
who rule in this land. 

I spent my time for the few days I was 
at Venice, chiefly in the ducal palace and 
the gondolas, heard some strange and evi- 
dently apocryphal stories of Byron and 
Buonaparte, and questioned the boatmen 
and ciceroni as to the heroes of Vene- 
tian story. The family of Faliero is extinct, 
the Foscari are actors for their daily bread, 
and the palace of the Loredanos gave me board 



220 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



and lodging. What a contrast to Venice in 
the prosperity of Milan, which I have just 
quitted, after one day s stay ! It has very fine 
institutions, and I ought to have remained 
longer, but I am on the alert when I arrive in 
a town, and do not lose time. What do you 
think of my learning to make terrasso at 
Venice % Terrasso is the marble-like stucco 
floor, that most beautiful material* which I 
have not seen any where else than at Pompei, 
Bologna and Venice. I have got the receipt, 
and intend to make my fortune in partnership 

with our speculative friend . You will be 

amused, when I return, by a page or two of 
plans and discoveries as to machinery, cookery 
and government. The cathedral of Milan 
pleased me more than any piece of church ar- 
chitecture in Italy, not excepting even St. 
Peters. The hospitals are splendidly sup- 
ported. I see no such thing as a beggar or 
even a poor person, and yesterday there was a 
magnificent public fete given by some rich 
Milanese to their fellow-citizens. I shall cross 
the Alps to-morrow, but I am still in doubt 
whether by St. Gothard or the Splugen, and 
then pursue my course onward, probably by 
Zurich and down the Rhine, (I believe the 
quickest way home,) perhaps embarking at 
Rotterdam. I am really very anxious to hear 



EXTRACTS, ETC, — BASLE. 221 

about you, as it is a long time since I have 
had a letter. Pray send a line to the Burling- 
ton hotel, as London will probably be a central 
point. Knowing nothing of English politics 
is disappointing at this time of business, elec- 
tions, &c. What is going on in Ireland I know 
not, and Galignani is so crowded about Al- 
giers, that he jumps the subject, and I have 
not had a glimpse even of this source of news 
for some days past. I will write again soon. 

95. — From the same to the same. 

Basle on the Rhine, August 4, 1830. 
I arrived here last night, having passed 
through Switzerland by Chur and Zurich, with- 
out stopping once since I heard the first news 
of the French revolution on the Italian side of 
the Alps. It was so exciting, that it completely 
expelled the interest in the Alps and snows 
and mountains, notwithstanding their extreme 
beauty ; and I hastened on till I could find 
papers and information, of which I received 
none till the day before yesterday, my pre- 
vious news having been merely that from a 
passing traveller, with whom I had ten mi- 
nutes' conversation, as I was going up the 
Splugen in my lonely char-a-banc. Yesterday 
my fellow-travellers translated the German 
papers for me, and % told me all that was 



222 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



known. Two of them were Swiss gentlemen, 
one with a brother, and the other with a son, 
in the Swiss guards *, and they received news 
that they were both safe yesterday. Last 
night and to-day I have had all the news 
before me in the papers, and seen an English- 
man who was at Paris during the whole 
scene of four days. According to these ac- 
counts, the conduct of the Parisians, both in 
and during the revolution, appears to have » 
been of a remarkably subdued character for 
such a time and event. The ministers of the 
king, as a matter of policy, must have acted 
most foohshly, to persevere against such a 
determined spirit as was displayed by the 
people at large. My word of mouth inform- 
ant does not represent the conduct of the 

* The consequences of this revolution fell more se- 
verely on the Swiss guards than on any class of the 
Parisians or French. Alison writes : — " One melancholy 
event alone darkened the universal triumph, and cast a 
tragic yet heroic air over the fall of the monarchy. A 
hundred Swiss, placed in a house at the junction of the 
Rue de Richelieu and the Rue St. Honore, who, in the 
confusion of the retreat had been forgotten, defended 
themselves to the last and perished, like their predecessors 
on the ioth of August, to the last man. Several Swiss, 
betrayed by their uniform, were pursued and massacred by 
the people • but with these exceptions, the insurgents 
made a noble use of their victory." — Alison's Hist, of 
Europe, ch. XVII. sect. 82. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. SWITZERLAND. 223 

populace to have been quite equal to what 
is told in the gazettes, but nevertheless says 
it was quite beyond any thing he has ever 
even heard of in the annals of revolution. At 
first I intended to pass through France, and 
see the state of Parisian feeling, but I am 
told that the conveyances are crowded to the 
greatest degree, and travellers meet with in- 
terruption, and, in some cases, are sent back. 
Therefore I shall go through a part of Ger- 
many and down the Rhine, and hope to be 
in London within the week. My wish all 
along has been not to delay on my journey, 
and, at the same time, to pursue a course 
which would give me the best opportunity 
of seeing new countries and scenes on my 
route ; but I am now very anxious to be at 
home, not from any odium maris atque via- 
rum, or because my desires are by any means 
yet satisfied in seeing the mores hominum 
multorum et urbes, but because I do not like 
to be alone and without communication with 
my fellow-countrymen at such a stirring pe- 
riod. However, it appears England is to be 
motionless, and I hope she will be so, if 
things continue in their present train. 

I suppose a war will take place in Eu- 
rope, and the greatest number of people, 
with whom I have talked, seem to think so 



224 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



too. The Swiss do not even return to their 
houses to look at their French newspapers, but 
read them in the streets by crowds, amidst the 
mist and the rain. There are very few Eng- 
lish travellers to be seen in Switzerland this 
year, and several of the natives have asked 
me the reason. I could only notice the poli- 
tical state of things at home, which deeply 
interests so many of those who would other- 
wise be abroad. I know no other cause. 

The diligence is just setting out towards 
Mannheim, and I must close abruptly. 



96. — From the same to the same. 

The Hague, August 15, 1830. 

I arrived at Rotterdam on Friday, after 
two days' descent of the Rhine, in the steam- 
boat. With the beauty of the river I must 
confess myself rather disappointed, and it 
seems to me far inferior in picturesque attrac- 
tion to the Rhone, though the latter is compa- 
ratively so unknown and neglected. Perhaps 
it had less effect after the beautiful scenes of 
the south, and the grandeur of Switzerland ; 
the weather also was bad, and the boat more 
like a coal-barge than Cleopatra s galley. 

When I wrote my last letter from Basle, I 
was much hurried and excited by the strange 



EXTRACTS^ ETC. SWITZERLAND. 225 

news of the Parisian revolution. The inn 
was full of English and other travellers. 
Some of them had left France in great tre- 
pidation. Others, who had intended to enter 
it, were waiting to see the direction in which 
the revolutionary wind would blow. Cer- 
tainly, no one whom I spoke to, imagined 
that such a calm as that which has succeeded 
was possible, though it is very easy now to 
turn " prophet of the past." 

The revolution was achieved by the lowest 
class, and it is still a problem to me how 
the populace had obtained the lofty and dis- 
interested good sense to relinquish temporary 
power and advantage in the way they appear 
to have done. It was probably the effect of 
education and the love of reading, shewn 
even by the Parisian hackney coachman and 
shoeblack. 

I passed a day at Heidelberg. The students 
were an odd set, with their scarlet and gold 
lace caps, sabre-cuts on their cheeks, braided 
coats, and painted china pipes of enormous 
length and magnitude. 

The journey through Baden was across an 
immense and fertile plain, covered with green 
crops of every description, in very small 
patches, and with numerous villages, strag- 
gling, dirty, and solitary. The country is 

Q 



226 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



very much taxed, and the poor quite unas- 
sisted by the government. This was all I 
saw of Germany, and it presented a consider- 
able contrast to the extreme comfort and 
neatness of the Swiss rural abodes, as scat- 
tered in the utmost beauty all round the lake 
of Zurich. The small lake of Wallenstadt 
seemed to me the gem of Swiss romantic 
scenery, and I had there the pleasure of see- 
ing an Alpine thunder-storm, with the light- 
ning playing about the pinnacles and natural 
spires formed by the Swiss mountains, and 
by no others which I have ever seen. All 
others which I have yet seen end in a 
round top, and this always fails, as the perfec- 
tion of beauty. The mountaineers however, 
instead of being full of simplicity, united the 
two qualities of dearness and cheating, both 
in the hotels and as to conveyance, whenever 
they had an opportunity"". 

I shall spend a few days in Holland, chiefly 
for the purpose of seeing the poor colonies of 
Frederick's-Oord, which are said to be very 
successful and flourishing, and of which some- 
thing might be introduced into Ireland, for 
the good of our poor there f . As in all pro- 

* Happily now ail changed. 

f The editor was just beginning to take an interest in 
such subjects. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. HOLLAND. 227 



bability I shall never be in Holland again, 
I think it worth while to go there, though 
the distance is considerable. When one is 
in good health and unaccompanied, it is the 
time to go to such places, though I am afraid 
I have not enough of the previous knowledge 
on these good subjects requisite to turn it 
to the best account. I go to Amsterdam to- 
morrow, and then shall cross the Zuyder Zee 
to Friesland, in which Frederick s-Oord * is 

* The editor had been much interested in reading some 
articles in the 4 Quarterly Review' on the prevention and 
relief of pauperism, where special mention of these poor 
colonies had been made : e. g. Art. VII. No. LXXXVI, 
Art. V. No. LXXVI, and Art. IX. No. LXXII. It ap- 
peared to him that the system might be applicable to the 
poor of Ireland, and hence originated his visit to the part 
of Holland specified in this letter. He inserted an account 
of the colony of Frederick's-Oord in some publications of 
the day which were most adapted to the subject, but can at 
present find no additional memoranda of his visit to the 
place. Nevertheless, he well remembers the interest of his 
whole journey, which was chiefly performed on foot — at 
that time rather an unusual mode of travelling for an 
Englishman, and, he may say, unexampled on the flats of 
North Holland. 

With regard to the system of these poor colonies, one 
of the articles above quoted thus alludes to it : — " It is 
also the same which we have recently more than once 
brought forward while urging the adoption in Britain of 
the system of poor colonies, which has been, and is still 
Q 2 



228 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



situated, and shall return for the steam-boat 



as usual straight to the Burlington hotel, and 

pursued with such complete success in Holland at Frede- 
rick' s-Oord, and in other establishments." — Art. YIL No. 



The subject is treated at full length in No. LXXXII. 
Art. IX. of the same work, and is thus introduced : — 
" But the most interesting as well as successful experiment 
set on foot in any age or any country, to enable the intel- 
ligent pauper to subsist independently of charity, by the 
cultivation of the soil, is that which has been recently 
made in the Netherlands. To this we briefly alluded on a 
former occasion, but the principles here developed are so 
important in themselves, and so applicable to the condi- 
tion of our own unemployed population at the present 
moment (1829), that we must recur to the subject. 

" The plan of establishing agricultural colonies was 
warmly taken up by the public, and in 18 18 a voluntary 
association was formed at the Hague for the purpose of 
carrying it into effect. They determined to make, in the 
first instance, an experiment upon a small scale, and pur- 
chased a tract of land, called TTesterbeck-Sloot, situated 
near the little town of Steenayk, on the confines of the 
provinces of Drentle. Friesland, and Overyssel." . . . 
" Three hundred and fifty acres of the waste were marked 
out and enclosed for the foundation of the first colony. 
The king of the Netherlands' second son, who interested 
himself warmly in the success of the undertaking, readily 
consented that the establishment should bear his name. 
Hence it was called Frederick's-Oord. 




LXXXYI. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HOLLAND. 229 

hope to find a letter. I imagine that London 
will be fuller than usual, as parliament will 
shortly assemble. Of the elections I do not 
know much, but see some of my acquaintance 
on the lists as candidates. Some are clever 
fellows. Others will not endanger the Thames. 
My time has been so much occupied in loco- 
motion and sight-seeing that I have not had 
time to study the papers from England, even 
when I have met them, and my first demand 
has usually been the 4 Constitutionel ' of 
France. It is evident, I think, that the 
French papers of the present day will con- 
tain a mighty chapter in the future history 
of Europe, and, indeed, of the whole world. 



. The Editor had been chiefly residing in 
Ireland since the period of his last letter 
from the continent, and the following letter 
was written at a time when a most dreadful 
famine was prevailing in the western parts 
of Ireland. It had been so extensive and 
deplorable as to have been thus brought for- 
ward in the King's speech of that year : — 

" Great distress unhappily prevailed in 
some districts, and more particularly in a 



230 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



part of the western counties of Ireland, to 
relieve which, in the most pressing cases, I 
have not hesitated to authorize the applica- 
tion of such means as were immediately avail- 
able for that purpose. But assistance of this 
nature is necessarily limited in its amount, 
and can only be temporary in its effect. 
The possibility, therefore, of introducing any 
measures which, by assisting the improvement 
of the natural resources of the country, may 
tend to prevent the recurrence of such evils, 
must be a subject of the most anxious interest 
to me, and to you of the most grave and 
cautious consideration." 



98. — From the same to the same. 

Crossmolina, Co. Mayo, June 19, J 831. 

I have now been for some days in seve- 
ral parts of this most troubled and melancholy 
district, and forward to you my Journal"''", just 
adding these few words as a letter. 

I have felt much satisfaction in obtaining 
an insight into various particulars of the pre- 
vailing want, instead of trusting altogether 
to the vague and somewhat contradictory ac- 
counts given in the newspapers. From the 

* The journal which accompanied this letter was shortly 
after inserted in the ' Dublin Evening Post/ 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — IRELAND. 231 

little which, as yet, I have seen, I do not 
think the distress has been at all exaggerated, 
and am quite convinced that had not pro- 
visions and a large timely aid arrived, multi- 
tudes would have died of starvation. How 
could it be otherwise 1 In many parts the 
crop has entirely failed : while, indeed, along 
the whole coast, and very far inland besides, 
it could not possibly have lasted till the ma- 
turity of the new crop. Besides, there is no 
such thing as hired employment to be got, in 
consequence of the country being chiefly in- 
habited by people who are tenants of very small 
holdings. No money remained in hand from 
last year's crop, because there was scarcely 
any crop to sell. The fisheries, which had 
previously been a source of food and employ- 
ment, have this year entirely failed ; and, to 
crown all, the landlords, generally speaking 
(for there are of course some exceptions, as 
Mrs. Palmer and Lord Sligo), are peculiarly 
involved, loaded with charges on their estates, 
and destitute of ready money. There could 
not be a greater union of untoward circum- 
stances, and multitudes would soon have 
perished had not great exertions been made 
to obtain subscriptions, though at the ele- 
venth hour. 

I walked from Westport to Newport the 



232 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



day before yesterday, and saw Mr. Stoney, 
the clergyman of Newport, who is amazingly 
hard at work in supplying loans of small sums 
and in the care of two stirabout boilers, of im- 
mense size and capacity. I am told also that 
the priest has sold bis cows, and every thing 
else he possessed, to provide for the people, 
who crowd and he around his door all night. 

From Newport I took a walk the next day 
to Crossmolina — fourteen miles, over a most 
wild and desolate country. You would have 
been amused, had you seen me at luncheon 
under a great tuft of furze, on oat-bread and 
a flask of port, which I brought from home. 
The guide was by no means clean or delicate 
in his appearance, and the only way I could 
give him share was by poriring it two or three 
times into the dirtiest hand that perhaps 
ever drank port wine. Happily for me, and 
most unexpectedly, I was saved from a very 
wretched lodging at Crossmolina by meeting 
in the inn-yard an old school-fellow, G. V. Jack- 
son, whom R, knew better than I did. He 

took me home to his house in my very rude 
costume, and to all the satisfaction of civilized 
society. His time, and that of all the resident 
gentry in this neighbourhood who are under 
the spirit of religion, benevolence, and duty, is 
entirely occupied in alleviating the distress 



EXTRACTS, ETC.— IRELAND. 233 



around. His father ploughed up a great part 
of his park on seeing the distress approach- 
ing, and it will shortly give a large supply 
of potatoes. Government have at last sent 
down commissioners, who have their head- 
quarters at Westport, and travel about the 
country at a marvellous rate, but I have not 
heard yet of any very large results from their 
activity. They are in a difficult position, and 
I imagine that their instructions cannot have 
been given in any proportion to the vast 
demand on supplies, which an eyewitness 
sees to be absolutely imperative. 

The country people here imagine that any 
gentleman travelling in these wild regions 
must be coming on the one important busi- 
ness of relieving, or, at all events, investi- 
gating their need. They have been constantly 
coming up to me to ask me to do this or that, 
and to get them justice (as they call it) from 
clergymen, priests, gentlemen, and commit- 
tees, and I don t know who besides. In vain 
I tell them that I am a stranger, and have 
nothing to do with it. They take me some- 
times for a spy on the money expended, sent 
over from England, and are not the less civil 
and attentive on that account. 

At Westport I saw a number of people 
buying and eating sea-weed, and the market 



234 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



was very destitute of provisions of any kind. 
Potatoes were from fourpence to sixpence a 
stone. In the midst of all this suffering, the 
people are all as quiet and well-behaved as 
possible, with the exception of some few in- 
stances, where sheep have been taken at 
night for food. This, too, at a time when 
numbers, on hearing that a distribution of 
any kind is to take place, come to make 
affidavits before the magistrates that their 
families have no provision whatsoever ! 

Probably I shall be at home by the middle 
of next week, and trust that the narrative of 
my visit, which is speedily to appear in the 
Dublin paper, may not be without some 
fruits of my endeavour, made in this journey, 
to help our poor fellow-creatures and fellow- 
countrymen under the present dreadful visit- 
ation of the famine — truly, as Scripture says, 
" sore in the land." 



"Westport, June 16, 183 1. 

To-day is market-day, and the town is 
filled with coiintry people. The quantity of 
potatoes or food of any kind exposed for sale 
is very trifling indeed, and even for that there 
appears little demand, on account of the 
scarcity of money. A considerable quantity 



EXTRACTS, ETC. WESTPORT. 235 

of sea-weed is on sale to be boiled for food. 
However, I saw several people eating it raw, 
and children picking bits out of the baskets ; 
others were bartering small portions of yarn 
in exchange. I have heard since that this is 
an article of food even in plentiful seasons, 
which I mention to avoid exaggerating even 
by implication, though to a stranger it cer- 
tainly seemed a mark of urgent distress to 
make sea-weed a substance of nutriment. . 

On the quay I observed an immense crowd 
struggling for admission at a storehouse door, 
as if life and death depended on their success. 
Two policemen were keeping order, with 
sticks in full activity, aided by a priest, who 
was alternately speaking English and Irish 
to the people. On obtaining entrance, I found 
that a sale of potatoes was going on at two- 
pence a stone, for the tenants of Lord Sligo, 
in a parish where the seed has failed this 
year; and I heard that the difference between 
that and the market price was defrayed at 
his lordship s expense. Nothing could surpass 
the intense eagerness of the people to obtain 
this assistance. They were warned that the 
potatoes were to be used only for the pur- 
poses of seed, and one man handed up a 
single sixpence in an old purse, with loud 
and pressing anxiety to be allowed to pur- 



236 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 

chase three stone. The parish priest, who 
was humanely and actively superintending 
the distribution, pointed out to me, among 
other instances of peculiar misfortune and 
suffering, a poor man, who had been obliged 
to shear his sheep in March, so as to obtain 
food for the price of the wool. The conse- 
quence was, that they died of cold shortly 
after ! 



June 17, 1831. 
In the evening I walked over to Newport, 
which has been described (and very justly) to 
be pre-eminently marked by distress. Some 
here have undoubtedly died already of ab- 
solute want. Immediately on enterhig the 
parish I saw two or three fields proving va- 
rious degrees of destitution. One had been 
thoroughly prepared for the crop, but no seed 
could be obtained, and it is now under weeds ; 
a second had potatoes over about half of its 
surface, and even over this half the different 
stages of maturity showed in what small por- 
tions, at what intervals of time, and with 
what difficulty, the means of cropping it had 
been acquired — another field had the manure 
absolutely laid out in heaps, but, alas ! no 
seed was to be obtained, and it is now to be 
seen luxuriant with weeds. Imagine what a 



EXTRACTS, ETC. NEWPORT. 237 

state, where a crop of potatoes and existence 
are convertible terms. Near the town I met 
some of the peasantry with bags of potatoes 
on their shoulders, and having heard of the 
badness of the cargo which arrived here from 
Jersey, I examined some of them, and found 
them in a state which I had never before 
seen. They were more like a sodden half- 
rotten oak-apple, than anything else I can 
think of, and emitted a most noxious smell. 
It is an absolute fact, that from the sea- 
breeze blowing towards me, I very sensibly 
perceived the offensive smell of the vessel 
which brought them at two hundred yards 
off. Though I heard to the contrary, I was 
in hopes that these potatoes were taken for 
the pigs, till I saw instances of people gro- 
velling among the very refuse on the shore, 
and selecting by the smell those which were 
the least offensive, a caution which would 
have scarcely been adopted for the above- 
mentioned animals. There were great fears 
that this food would produce disease and 
pestilence, and I mention these circumstances 
to show the extremity of distress suffered 
by the unfortunate human beings who are 
reduced to such nutriment. 

Mr. Stoney, the clergyman of the parish, 
has done a vast deal during this trying season. 



238 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



He supplies food daily to many hundreds, and 
I saw two large boilers full of stirabout, for 
distribution. Besides this, he has lent above 
a thousand pounds in small sums, for the 
purchase of seed and food, to be repaid by 
monthly instalments of two shillings in the 
pound, to commence two months hence — a 
mode of relief for which the people seem ex- 
ceedingly grateful. Such is the extent of 
distress in the »parish, that in a population of 
little more than twelve thousand, nine thou- 
sand are at the present moment in absolute 
want of food, and will certainly perish, unless 
large and timely aid is afforded to them. A 
boatman, who went yesterday with potatoes 
from Westport to Achill, told me, that so 
hungry and eager were the inhabitants, and 
so afraid of being too late for a share, that the 
coastguard were obliged to fire several shots 
over their heads, before they could keep them 
off and obtain order sufficient for distribution. 
All unite in representing this island to be ut- 
terly destitute. 



Crossmolina, June 19, 1831. 
A wild and desolate country leads from 
Newport to Crossmolina, in the barony of Tyr- 
awley. Though considerably removed from 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CROSSMOLINA. 239 

the sea-coast, yet distress prevails here to a 
very great degree. Immense bodies of work- 
men are employed on the roads in the neigh- 
bourhood, and the poor people crowd around 
every person on whom their employment de- 
pends, with the utmost anxiety. The houses 
of those who are charitably disposed are sur- 
rounded from morning to night by claimants 
for relief, and many of them in a rank of life 
usually considered as above want or distress. 
Directly a distribution is talked or heard of, 
numbers come forward anxious to make affi- 
davits that they have no food or means of 
obtaining it. In fact, throughout the county, 
even in the best of times, there is very little 
labour or hired service — the county generally 
being divided into exceedingly small hold- 
ings, and being very destitute of thriving 
farmers or persons in the middle class of life, 
each of whom would employ and take in- 
terest in a small number of their poorer 
neighbours. 

The great subject of interest among the 
poor at the present moment is, the Belief 
Committee and their proceedings ; and upon 
this subject a stranger is unceasingly ques- 
tioned, and no wonder, as upon the industry 
and success of the Committee in obtaining 
funds, and on their judicious allotment of 



240 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



them, depends the very existence of immense 
numbers. Committee roads, committee ships, 
committee meal, committee money,- is heard 
on every side, and often in the native Irish. 
A stranger is sure to be looked on as a Com- 
missioner from England to superintend the 
administration of the funds ; and I have had 
in my short tour many petitions, complaints, 
and demands for justice made by those of the 
poor who considered themselves in any. way 
wronged, although I positively declared that 
I had no influence, authority, or commission 
whatsoever. It is very gratifying to hear of 
no instances of gross jobbing, or serious per- 
version of money ; and the proceedings of 
1822 would not now be tolerated. These re- 
collections, in a considerable degree, checked 
and retarded the subscriptions this year. 
Otherwise English liberality would have been 
far more zealously exerted, and much misery 
prevented, for which the avaricious and the 
peculators of former periods have to answer 
in conscience, if not in law. Large and ex- 
tensive works are in progress at Ballina. At 
Killala I first heard the cheering news that 
there had not been much distress, and that 
it had only just commenced, so that the dis- 
trict was fortunate comparatively with those 
I had lately traversed. In Crossmolina, I 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CROSSMOLINA. 241 

passed a couple of days with a resident 
gentleman, who is occupied from six in the 
morning till twelve at night, in labouring to 
support the poor, and carry them safe 
through the present trying period. Attend- 
ing committees, marking out roads, superin- 
tending districts, writing letters of petition 
and letters of thanks, giving relief to those 
who cannot work, and listening to innumer- 
able demands of every description, amidst 
the racking and depression of spirits pro- 
duced by witnessing a mass of irremediable 
misery ; such are at present the occupations 
of the active and humane at this lamentable 
season. 

I was informed by an eyewitness of the 
fact, that the new potatoes, not so large as a 
cherry, have already been pulled up and de- 
voured. There is every cause for continued 
exertion in obtaining subscriptions ; for al- 
though there has not been as yet a very 
large loss of life, yet numbers will undoubt- 
edly sink under the succession of privations, 
which it is now too late to prevent, though 
much may be done by immediate aid. In- 
deed, a corpse-like and haggard look is be- 
coming very general — the nose is becoming 
prominent — the eyes are sinking in the head, 
and the mixture of absorbing anxiety and 

R 



242 



ORIGINAL LETTERS. 



hopeless despair, visible in the crowds that 
congregate in the roads and around the 
houses of the clergymen, priests, and gentle- 
men, in these western districts, would draw 
tears from the most strong-hearted and stoical. 
Existence is all that is wanted, and even 
that cannot be guaranteed to the thousands 
and thousands of sufferers, who ask for no 
money, but merely for employment and sub- 
sistence of the poorest description in return. 
Much work cannot be at present expected 
from them, as the deficiency of food has most 
visibly weakened then bodies, and rendered 
them incapable of exertion. On the road 
between Crossmolina and Castlebar, some 
hundreds of the peasantry were collected 
with spades in then hands, intreating my 
fellow-traveller of the neighbourhood to give 
them employment. They were most thank- 
ful to have hopes afforded of their being em- 
ployed two or three days hence. At one 
stopping-place I counted a group of seventy- 
two around us, all making the same demand 
— so pitiable where there are no means of 
granting it, and without one single expression 
of discontent or violence. I heard yester- 
day one of the poor utter a most noble senti- 
ment — "Well, sir, we are not come to the 
worst yet — we are still honest — not a sheep 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CROSSMOLINA. 243 

has been touched nor a house robbed." I had 
a conversation with the Protestant clergyman 
of Erris ; the distress there is overwhelming, 
and few to mitigate it. Those who were pre- 
viously well off are this year reduced to 
poverty — the poor to a state of famine. 

But enough of these deplorable details. I 
add no note or comment, being well assured 
that plain statements of such grievous things 
as these always tell more in the cause of 
benevolence than any personal endeavours to 
stir up and awaken it by further appeals. It 
is well that the knowledge of them should be 
extended by the few observations hastily put 
together on the spot by a traveller over a 
great part of those districts, which of late 
have so forcibly occupied the attention of all 
who possessed a spark of humanity. 



Among other measures for the benefit of 
the Irish poor, the Editor had taken an in- 
terest in the establishment of Charitable Loan 
Funds for the relief of the poor and industri- 
ous, and in hopes of extending that excellent 
system, addressed the following letter to the 
editor of the Dublin Evening Post, who in- 
serted it in that journal. He considers that 
the principle of the measure is now as valu- 

E, 2 



244 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



able as ever for application in any country, 
1861. 

Augnst 4, 1831. 

To the Editor of the Dublin Evening Post 

I shall feel much indebted to you, if you 
will allow me a small space in your columns, 
which I intend to occupy with a few observa- 
tions on Charitable Loan Funds, as even an 
inexperienced person can call attention to a 
mode of assisting the poor and industrious 
classes, which, although partially established 
in this country, has not yet met with that 
general support which the efficacy of the sys- 
tem may fairly demand * 

Any sum, however small, (say even a few 
shillings,) may be considered as a poor man s 
capital ; and to the labourer earning eight- 
pence or ten-pence a day, to the holder of a 
few ruiimproved acres of land, or to the dis- 
tressed artizan, a sum of from ten shillings to 
five pounds will often be a service no less 
valuable than thousands to the speculative 
merchant or extensive agriculturist. To use 
the words of a person accurately acquainted 
with the condition of the poor, " there are 
many ways which present themselves to the 

f The system was subsequently very largely and effect- 
ively applied throughout most parts of Ireland. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 245 

poor of making out a livelihood, and which 
thej see clearly, but these matters cannot be 
had without capital — they cannot command 
this small sum, and hence all their poverty 
for ever after." Nothing can be more truly 
and clearly set forth, and this brief sentence 
contains the secret of a vast deal of that want 
and destitution for which Ireland is unfortu- 
nately so preeminent. I have lying before 
me the Act of Parliament, dated the nth of 
this month, by which five hundred thousand 
pounds are to be lent for the extension and 
promotion of public works in Ireland. For 
it we should be thankful. In the districts 
where the money may be spent, it will give 
employment, and be advantageous in divers 
ways. But with our present subject it has 
little concern. It is a vain endeavour to raise 
the structure of national prosperity without 
securing the base, and that base is a tolerable 
degree of comfort for the poor, to which no- 
thing would more certainly tend than the 
existence in every parish of a small Loan 
Fund, to which those who are at once poor, 
honest, and industrious might apply in press- 
ing exigencies. Ireland is precisely in the 
condition where such a circulation would 
prove of peculiar value. The rate of wages 
is so low, and the means of employing a 



246 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



numerous family so deficient, that the whole 
earnings of the lower classes are expended 
in obtaining daily sustenance, so that how- 
ever conscious of the benefits to be derived 
from a small outlay, they are unable to ac- 
cumulate a sum, apparently trifling, but large 
to them, while it is incredible what suffering 
they undergo, and what sacrifices they are 
obliged to make to obtain the smallest ad- 
vance, even for a few months. If space ad- 
mitted I might make a long catalogue of 
instances. Rural usury often amounts to 
cent, per cent. Seed is supplied at sowing- 
time on condition that a double quantity of 
corn shall be returned at harvest. On press- 
ing occasions, such as that of a funeral, five 
shillings have been given for the use of a 
pound during a single week ; and a weaver 
has been known to pay nine shillings a week 
during two whole years as hire of a loom, of 
which the cost price was twenty-seven shil- 
lings ! However, it is generally impossible 
to raise any sum whatsoever — a case which 
is still more lamentable and ruinous. The 
artizan remains idle, unable to obtain the 
price of tools and raw materials of work — 
the field remains unproductive and half tilled, 
perhaps altogether unoccupied for want of 
seed, and in the absolute necessity of imme- 



EXTRACTS, ETC.— IRELAND. 247 

diate support, the potatoes sown in the 
ground have been dug up for food. These 
instances undoubtedly refer to the lowest 
state of penury, but this lowest ebb of ex- 
istence is unfortunately but too prevalent. 
Proceed a little higher, and a Loan Fund will 
be of equal utility to the objects of its assist- 
ance. Industry, sobriety, and regularity will 
be promoted among those who look to the pos- 
sibility of becoming applicants, as they know 
that those of an opposite character would be 
refused, and most extensive gratitude will be 
spread among the poor in the neighbourhood 
of its operation. 

Perhaps, at first sight, one might imagine 
that the poor would not repay the amount 
lent. A security (himself in a solvent condi- 
tion) is no doubt requisite, but with this pre- 
caution there need be little apprehension of 
non-repayment, as the person offering himself 
as security must have well-grounded confi- 
dence in the character and conduct of the 
borrower before he would make himself liable 
to any loss. In fact, the more one examines 
the subject, the more one will be convinced of 
the punctuality of the Irish poor in making 
repayments. The Reports of the Committee 
of last May present the striking instance of 
the Derry Fund which had lent out, by 



248 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



means of an original sum of 500?., during 
twenty-one years, the immense sum of 
27,000?. The loss by default of payment 
had during this time been only jl. is., or 
about seven shillings in each 1,200?. Other 
funds have continued for years and lost no- 
thing. However, this would be too much to 
expect. Mr. Godly's evidence in 1825, page 
737 of the Reports on the state of Ireland, is 
also worthy of the utmost attention. 

A few peculiar facilities attend this mode 
of ameliorating the condition of the poor, 
e. g. pecuniary aid is reqiiired but once, as 
the charity, after the first establishment, 
maintains itself without any additional funds 
whatsoever. 

The cost of setting up is very trifling, the 
whole expenditure consisting in printing a 
book for keeping accounts and loan tickets, 
which may be done for thirty shillings. 

The money remains vmconsumed, should it 
please the subscribers to apply it at any time 
to another purpose. 

Extensive assistance' is by no means neces- 
sary. Any one resident who can employ of 
Ms own, or procure by charitable subscrip- 
tion, a sum of ten, fifty, or an hundred pounds, 
may establish a fund of great utility to the 
poor. Supposing the loans are repaid every 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 249 

week at the rate of one shilling and eight- 
pence for each pound borrowed, the sum lent 
will be returned in three months, and besides 
this the sum brought in every Saturday may 
be lent out again the same day. Thus, sup- 
posing a constant demand for money, the 
original sum may afford capital every year 
exceeding eight times the amount subscribed. 
Twenty pounds will supply above one hun- 
dred and sixty pounds in the year, and even 
ten will produce no despicable amount. There- 
fore, no benevolent person who has an hour s 
leisure in the week, and approves of the sys- 
tem, need be deterred by poverty of resources, 
as there is scarcely any district where a small 
sum could not be obtained, either by private 
subscriptions, application to the landed pro- 
prietor, or collections at church and chapel. 
In England a plan has lately been set on foot 
of collecting funds by penny, sixpenny, and 
shilling subscriptions. Very large sums have 
been procured by this means for charitable 
purposes, and the hint may be worth notice. 

Nobody would be more gratified than the 
writer, if we could see the Scotch banking 
system introduced into Ireland. But at pre- 
sent we can scarcely aspire so high. The ob- 
ject held in view in this communication has 
the humbler aim of relieving that absolute 



250 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



poverty which is but too general, in an easy 
and economical way. Est quiddam prodire 
tenus, si non datur ultra. Not but that the 
system, if widely diffused, would really tend 
to the increase of national wealth. A reme- 
dial system for Ireland's disease, the want of 
capital, should beghi among the poor. Bacon 
wisely said, " Capital, like manure, does no 
good till it be spread ; " and the ' Edinburgh 
Review/ in speaking of capital and industry, 
well observes, "that wherever these two ele- 
ments of production are brought in contact, 
the result must be a vast increase of private 
comfort, as well as rapid accession of public 
wealth." What could be more conducive to 
this end than Parochial Loan Funds 1 

The Act 4th George IV, ch. 32, gives con- 
siderable advantages and facilities for recover- 
ing debts due to Charitable Loan Funds, and 
in other ways supports the system. 

With the aid of a friend who had conducted 
a Loan Fund in the South of Ireland, I put 
together a few observations on the plan of 
managing the details, (being unable to find 
anything published with that view,) and had 
them printed by Curry*. 

* They appeared in the form of a pamphlet, and went 
through two editions. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LOAN FUNDS. 251 

From- a friend in England to F. T. 

June 1 6, 183 1. 
The interest of the loan system is gaining 
ground gradually, and I am in great hopes of 
being able very shortly to extend it into the 
neighbouring villages of this county. The 
plan of paying one penny for each pound 
upon receiving the loan, answers fully, and 
will, I think, nearly defray the expenses of 
printing &c. in the first year. Hitherto we 
have no losses from failure in paying the in- 
stalments, and but a few instances where they 
have not been paid to the hour specified, the 
insisting upon the fine of sixpence when they 
do miss, answers in keeping the borrowers 
regular. I am beginning to be very particular 
in accepting the securities, as I have had 
reasons for suspecting some have offered 
themselves as such without having any in- 
tention of fulfilling the engagement. The 
further I proceed the more I approve of the 
system. I have given some of your pamphlets 
where I hope there will be an effort to esta- 
blish a fund. 



From a friend holding an extensive land 
agency in Ireland. 

July 15, 1831. 

I have got your Hints on Loan Funds, 



252 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



and was very much pleased with them. They 
are perfectly clear, and easy to be understood. 
I wish every small town had a fund. Loans 
of every description must, on general prin- 
ciples, prove useful when they will make more 
for the borrower than the interest ; and they 
will be most useful when they can be paid off 
from weekly earnings, and thus encourage 
regularity, besides other beneficial habits, 
among our poor. 



From his Father to F. T. 

Brockley Park, July 16, 1831. 

Your present visit to London is at a most 
interesting time in every way. Unless people 
are driven away by the cholera, or by the 
dread of it, the London season will in all pro- 
bability be prolonged to the coronation in the 
begmning of September. 

I hope that you have made good use of your 
present opportunity in calling on old friends, 
and renewing all good and worthy acquaint- 
ances. As we grow older we see more clearly 
the need of it, and the great disadvantage of 
that reserve, too often felt by persons of su- 
perior and delicate minds, which prevents 
them from paying visits &c. from a fear of 
appearing to put themselves unduly forward. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 253 



All this is usually mere nonsense, as if a young 
man ought to wait for spontaneous attention 
from those advanced in life, and often much 
occupied, specially in London. Such an one's 
existence, still less his place of residence, can- 
not be expected to be known there, and the 
elders, far from disapproving of it, expect the 
attention of a call from their juniors. I am 
very glad to hear of what you are doing in a 
more public way, and to see that London has 
not blunted your endeavours for good and 
benevolent objects. May you be successful in 
this as well as in every thing else ! Have you 
answered Parnell s letter, in which he refers 
you to his statement* on the Scotch banking 
system, as applicable to Ireland \ I think you 
may safely tell him that Scotch banks are 
quite above the wants and present capacities 
of this country, but that well-regulated loan 
funds are noiv appHcable. Nor could the 
charter of the Bank of Ireland cause any ob- 
stacle in this way. 

* " Under the circumstances in which Ireland is placed, 
nothing would so much contribute to her rapid improve- 
ment in wealth as the introducing the /Scottish plan of cash 
credits, and paying interest on deposits. By cash credits, 
the capital which now exists would be rendered more effi- 
cient, and the paying of interest on small deposits would 
lead to habits of economy and to the more rapid accumula- 
tion of new capital." — Parnell on Banking, p. 176. 



254 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



From F. T. to his Father. 

Upton Cottage, Hants, August 26, 1831. 

I received your letter yesterday. You 
mention the death of my horse. I have no 
doubt that all was done to preserve him, so 
far as was in your power and that of those 
consulted for him. He was a fine animal. I 
shall not endeavour to replace him, and the 
only difference will be that of non-hunting 
instead of hunting. I was in a kind of equi- 
librium on the subject before, and now that 
the matter seems decided for me at present, I 
am quite content. 

Ballyeagle school seems extending itself to 
such large dimensions, that it seems to me 
impossible it can be managed by the master 
alone, unless he adopts the Lancastrian or 
vicarious system of tuition, and drills some of 
the most clever and industrious of the scholars 
to enable them to teach the others. Would 
you have the kindness to send him a thin 
octavo, called the Barrington School, by sir 
Thomas Barnard. It is on the bookshelves in 
my room. The schoolmaster is young, docile 
and intelligent, so far as I judged, and I have 
hopes that he will not only comprehend the 
need and practicability of the plan, but also 
apply it. If you think it desirable, I will 
write him full details on the system. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — HANTS. 



255 



I remained some days at Chessel, and am 
now at this delightful spot, which I always 
like. Though my portion of cares and wan- 
dering is small compared with that of many, 
yet still on such occasions I often realize the 
beauty of these lines of Catullus : 

quid solutis est beatius curis, 
Cum mens onus reponit et peregrino 
Lahore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum, 
Desideratoque acquiescimus lecto ! 

I have seen our old tutor, Pritchard, old 
King and his wife, and several of the Bursle- 
don villagers. They all inquired affection- 
ately for you. 

The Southampton people had the pleasure 
and, I will add, intellectual benefit of Seeing 
Miss Kembles performances last week. I 
saw her first in Juliet, and very much ad- 
mired the solemnity, devotion and depth, 
which she gave to the passion of the young 
lady of Verona. Having been introduced to 
them in London, I called on her father and 
her, with the intention of offering them any 
civilities and attention, as strangers in these 
parts, but I found that they were intimate 
with the Fitzhughs, and this was quite suffi- 
cient for all social purposes. Mrs. W. gave a 
large party during this week at Netley Abbey, 
to which they were invited. Miss K. climbed 



256 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



most courageously about the ruins, and the 
hazardous places seemed the most acceptable. 
She has the advantage of a commanding ap- 
pearance when on the stage, and when off, has 
much intelligence and feeling in her counte- 
nance : and there appeared to me to be an 
union of these qualities in her conversation. 

I hope that the loan funds will spread in 
the Queen's county. The theory of the system 
is unexceptionable, and there is now an ex- 
emplification of successful practice at Strad- 
bally. One was talked of at Ballybrittas, 
another at Mount Mellich, another at Portar- 
lington. Perhaps you would let me know 
whether any thing is done in those quarters. 

I hear that parish libraries are to be esta- 
blished throughout France. They are already 
in advance of us in the excellent libraries 
maintained for public and easy access in all 
the chief towns, and in many to which that epi- 
thet would not be applied. I mean where there 
may not be more than from five to ten thou- 
sand inhabitants. In addition to the libraries, 
containing works of general reference, and usu- 
ally a rich supply of local publications, illustra- 
tive of the neighbourhood and its worthies, 
they have always a librarian of intelligence 
and kindly disposition to help and guide the 
readers and students. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CHARITIES. 257 

There is a good deal of benevolent activity 
now stirring in England, from which we may 
be justified in expecting much improvement 
among the poorer classes of society. One 
among those measures, which at the present 
time meets very general favour, is that of 
apportioning small pieces of land, called allot- 
ments, to those who have no gardens or other 
ground of their own. A field is divided into 
small portions for the purpose, and there is a 
great desire to rent such land. There is much 
gain to the occupant, as he and his family 
occupy their spare time on the ground, and 
about the same rent is charged to him as 
would be paid by the farmer 4 ". 

I will write again soon. 



103. — From Lady Noel Byron to F. T. 

Hanger-Hill, Sept. 25, 1831. 
I cannot say how much I have been in- 
terested by the contents of your packet. I 
had seen a slight notice of Liberia some 
months ago, and was struck by the prospects 
it opened to both continents, but did not 
know where to gain any further information. 
I am happy to learn that a home-colonization 
society has been formed by such zealous 

* The system at that time was only in commencement. 
S 



258 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



friends to the long-neglected classes. As your 
kind confidence disposes me to speak with 
equal openness, I will own that it appears to 
me most desirable to avoid connecting be- 
nevolent institutions with any establishment, 
not merely on account of the state of the 
Irish, but of every " visible" church, though, 
as you observe, it is not in consequence ne- 
cessary to leave " le sentiment religieux" un- 
educated. It is then always liable to be per- 
verted to the worst purposes. Owen's error 
on this point has proved injurious even to the 
temporal prosperity of his favourite schemes, 
and it is to be regretted that he did not link 
with his excellent principle, " Be kind to one 
another — for this is your duty to God." 

The proposed clause in Mr. Grattans bill 
seem adapted to the exigencies of the case as 
far as I understand it. 

I am anxious that whatever is in progress 
for the good of the poor should be made known 
to them much more effectually than it is at 
present. Perhaps this may be still more im- 
portant in Ireland than in England, for reasons 
which, if just, will present themselves to you. 
In order to gain time for the execution of 
your projects, you must give to hope " a local 
habitation and a name," after all the vague and 
delusive promises which have been held out. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — CHARITIES. 259 

Were the discontented aware of all that is 
going on with a view to raise them in the 
social scale, those feelings of desperation which 
prompt them to violent measures would be 
abated, and they would no longer imagine 
that the welfare of one class must be attained 
by the depression of another. It is a great 
mistake to suppose that the publications of 
benevolent societies are even heard of amongst 
the mass of the people. Neither could the 
benefits intended to be conferred be under- 
stood without explanation. I have made di- 
ligent inquiries on this subject in England, 
and have ascertained by partial experiment 
the advantages of communicating facts of that 
nature mtelligibly and familiarly to the lowest 
classes. The surprise and gratitude which 
have been manifested seem to prove that much 
good would result from organized means of 
imparting such knowledge in each neighbour- 
hood. Oral communication has hitherto been 
made the instrument of preachers or dema- 
gogues. Why should it not be employed to 
make known to those who are so industriously 
instructed in their ivrongs, that their rights 
are regarded by other classes % There might 
be a gradation of agents for that purpose 
from the gentlemen with whom loan-funds &c. 
orighiated, to the pauper for whose relief the 
s 2 



260 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



plan was designed, but in direct colloquial 
intercourse ; the people should be addressed 
by individuals from their own body. I think 
that reciprocal goodwill might thus in a mea- 
sure be created, even before the actual ex- 
perience of the benefit. 

I see that the secretary of the society of 
agriculture in France has proposed to esta- 
blish Dutch colonies throughout that country, 
one sixth of which is uncultivated. I have 
transmitted the circular letter (of which I 
should be glad to have another copy) to Mr. 
Chaloner, whose command over Lord Fitz- 
williams property and extensive connections 
might render him a valuable coadjutor"". 

* The editor will make no further comment on this 
letter, than to observe, that it illustrates, in a remarkable 
degree, an observation subsequently made to him by the 
highly gifted writer, that " at a very early period of her 
life she had formed a plan of action, from which she had 
not deviated, viz., a series of practical exertions in behalf 
of her fellow-creatures, as the best mode of serving God." 
She added, " that she felt sufficient confidence in her 
powers, even at that time, to know that at some period or 
other she might be enabled to write a valuable work, but had 
deliberately surrendered this object for the sake of the other." 
"No person could have written the letter above quoted 
except one who had made active and varied benevolence 
the study and practice of many, many years. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 261 



104.— From F. T. to his Father. 

London, Oct. 12, 183 1. 3 o'clock p. m. 

The town presents a very extraordinary 
appearance at the present moment. Every 
shop was shut on my way from Mount Street 
down to St. James's Square, which was full of 
people assembled from their different parishes 
in a kind of order of six or seven abreast. Some 
were decorated with blue ribbons, and there 
were placards in some of the hats, containing 
inscriptions, such as, " Equal rights" &c. Some 
were heard talking about universal suffrage — 
one man pulled out a quid of tobacco under 
our club window, and looking up, said, " This 
is all the poor have now, and they would not 
have that soon if the Lords had it their own 
way." Another man looked up to us who were 
on the balcony, and said, " It is your time now, 
gentlemen, but it will soon be ours." I mention 
these as a few straws thrown up to show how 
the wind blows. 

The assemblage is very quiet at this mo- 
ment, and I understand there is little fear for 
the peace of the metropolis, but this is of 
course in uncertainty. 

The King holds a levee to-day, and the in- 
tention is to bring the people from all parts 
of the metropolis into the neighbourhood 



262 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



of St. James's palace. It is supposed that 
there are above an hundred thousand there 
already, though the day is wet, dark and 
unfavourable. I see my opposite neighbour 
just bringing out boards to board up his 
windows, the house being private, but sup- 
pose he must be of a nervous habit, as I do 
not see his plan generally adopted. I saw a 
policeman take a pickpocket through the mid- 
dle of the crowd, but there was not the least 
opposition or disapprobation expressed by the 
multitude. I cannot say that I have observed 
any inflammatory placards, but many of an 
opposite character, recommending peace, order 
and firmness. Birmingham is said to be quite 
tranquil, which is an excellent sign, as that 
town has a stronger political feeling prevalent 
in it than perhaps any other, and is thoroughly 
organized to the very poorest class, through 
the means of the political union. I was in- 
troduced to Thomas Atwood, who is at the 
head of it, when I was at Bir min gham, and 
was much amused by the meeting between 
him and Robert Owen, of which I was an 
eyewitness. "Why don't you join us?" was 
the first question that broke from each of 
them respectively almost in the same words, 
and at the same moment. People seem to 
have taken a leaf out of O'Connell s book all 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 263 

over this country, and to recommend the de- 
monstration of immense assemblages, peaceful 
and organized. The system is new, and 
quite ultra-democratic. In some places vio- 
lence has broken out. News came last night 
that Nottingham castle (the Duke of New- 
castles) was burnt down — the bishops are 
loudly hissed, and IA Londonderry was 
roughly handled on his way to parliament. 

And now to more peaceable and pleasant 
subjects. 

The plan for home colonisation in Ireland 
is proceeding as well as can be expected, con- 
sidering the few who will pay quiet and per- 
severing attention to such subjects, when they 
can find any thing else more exciting. A 
meeting was held for the purpose of pro- 
moting the plan, at which there were two 
peers, a few members of parliament, and about 
fifty others. A committee was chosen to pre- 
pare some measures. This committee ap- 
pointed a sub-committee to give them a plan. 
I gave one to the sub-committee, which was 
approved of. It is as much as possible on the 
Dutch mode, because a national precedent and 
example is always more valuable than indi- 
vidual theories. This was written out and 
sent to the members of the sub-committee, 
and we are to meet for alterations to-morrow. 



264 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



When amended, it will be lithographed, and I 
will send you a copy immediately. If ap- 
proved of by the Society, we hope to make 
application to government for an experiment 
of the system. And this will, I believe, be 
supported by several persons of influence 
and property. Upon the whole, I think the 
prospect of introducing the plan is rather 
encouraging than otherwise at the present 
moment. 

It is now five o'clock, and no tumult or 
disturbance has taken place. Hume addressed 
the people from Mr. Byng's house, apparelled 
in his court dress, and spoke of the king s 
having favourably received the Mary-le-bone 
petition. If I can get an evening paper in 
time, I will send it to you. 

The boa-constrictor cast off its skin on Sa- 
turday night, and appeared in the morning, 
to the great surprise of the keepers, in a bright 
new coat. I suppose we must take it as a 
kind of omen of the times. No one can tell 
what changes may be at hand, and very great 
excitement prevails on all sides. 



105. — From the same to the same. 

Mount St., London, Oct. 1831. 
I had some conversation with Mr. Grattan 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 265 

about the Poor Assessment Bill, and after a 
considerable deal of talk, persuaded him to 
let me get a clause drawn up to enable any 
of the special vestries, which are to be formed 
under his proposed act, to borrow a sum not 
exceeding £100, for any parish to form a per- 
manent loan fund, for the encouragement of 
the poor and industrious. I shewed him a 
good many letters on the subject. At the 
end of the conversation he expressed consider- 
able interest in the plan, and promises to 
press it warmly should his bill be entertained, 
which, by the bye, is very doubtful. Pray 
do not mention what I have said, as far as 
regards my humble efforts. He also has a 
clause for a kind of parochial farm. 

The expected majority, now current in con- 
versation, against the Reform Bill in the 
House of Lords, is eight. So closely do 
people calculate on the subject. Some say 
that the majority against the measure will 
be much larger, and I confess that I cannot 
trace in any of their speeches that they are 
more inclined to yield than they have been 
hitherto. They abstain from making much 
allusion to the political clubs, unions, and 
societies. This, at all events, is dignified, 
whether it is prudent or not. These societies 
have now extended over three parts of Great 



266 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Britain, i. e. the midland and north parts of 
England and Scotland, and they are all reso- 
lutely determined on reform. Some people 
are apprehensive of tumults, but the organi- 
zation is too complete to allow their breaking 
out. It is a striking fact, that the five first 
signs of the last days, mentioned in St. Luke, 
have taken place during the last year — nation 
against nation — one kind of sovereignty (fiao-l- 
\eia) against another — earthquakes (off Sicily) 
— famines (in Mayo) and pestilence, exempli- 
fied in the cholera over the globe. So far 
as human confidence may prevail, I have a 
strong reliance on the stability of England, 
and that chiefly proceeds from the spread and 
use of the Scripture among the great body 
of the people. This keeps matters in per- 
manent order, spite of occasional turbulence 
and interruptions. 

Two or three people with whom I am ac- 
quainted have had the cholera, but in a 
light form, and they have soon recovered 
from it. As you know, I have seen it in 
its very worst and most appalling character. 
It comes on like a giant — like an " armed 
man" upon the helpless sufferer. May we 
and all dear to us be preserved from its 
fell attacks ! 

I was at a meeting yesterday for putting 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 267 



in effect home colonization in Ireland. The 
result was, that the sentiments of the Irish 
proprietors are to be ascertained by circulars, 
and a report is to be drawn up, in case it 
should appear that there is a body of them 
sufficiently strong to recommend it favourably 
to government. A subscription was entered 
into by a few who were most interested on 
the subject, towards defraying the necessary 
expenses of making the subject known. Would 
you like to have your name put down for a 
few pounds in behalf of this object 1 When 
any thing has been done worth notice, I will 
send you word. The weather here is, and 
has been, delightful. 



106— From his Father to F. T. 

Brockley Park, Oct. 19, 1831. 

Thank you for your very interesting ac- 
count of what is going on in London. Though 
I miss you here, I think it is good for one at 
your time of life, and with your habits and 
pursuits, to be in the midst of those exciting 
scenes now around you, perhaps seldom sur- 
passed for claims on human interest, as a po- 
litical crisis, in the history of any great nation. 
For my part, I dread an outbreak more in 



268 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



London than in Birmingham or Manchester. 
In the metropolis, there would be two parties 
arrayed against one another. In the latter 
towns, all is in one way, and the organization 
is complete. Lord John and Lord Althorp 
expressed more good-will towards the Politi- 
cal Unions than I could have wished. What 
alterations do they intend to make in the 
new bill % I hope that they will graduate the 
town qualifications according to the wealth 
and population of the place. 

I am glad that you are able to get any at- 
tention at all to your Home Colonies at such 
a crisis as this. It may encourage you, as it 
is really more than could have been expected. 



107.— From F. T. to Us Father. 

London, Nov. i, 1831. 
I was sorry to hear of so many fearful out- 
rages in the neighbourhood where you dwell, 
and I should be glad to know whether the 
cause is one which exposes the gentry of the 
country to personal danger. If so, I would 
return till such a period was past, not from 
any feelings of local duty, for which there is 
no claim on me, but because I do not think it 
right, or satisfactory to myself, that you should 
be exposed to any hazards or duties in which 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 269 



I might either represent you, or at least take 
a part. I heard of a sad catalogue of murders 

within ten miles of , but have received 

no more particulars. You will therefore see 
that the above observations are by no means 
without cause. 

I have had nothing to report of interest or 
excitement in London for some time as to 
public matters. Yesterday, however, an ex- 
tensive meeting took place in Lincoln s Inn 
Fields, to form a London Political Union. I 
was there for a short time, and heard some 
able speaking, particularly from a man named 
Detroisier, who was bred a weaver at Man- 
chester. He was not violent in language 
against the upper and middle classes of so- 
ciety, but cleverly advocated a separation 
of the working orders from the other two. 
There are many persons insidiously and mis- 
chievously endeavouring to promote this se- 
paration. The bishop of Norwich happened 
to pass through the crowd in his carriage in 
the midst of the speeches. At first, simply as 
a bishop, he was violently hissed and hooted 
at. Some one cried out, " Bishop of Norwich, a 
reform bishop." The hootings and outcries of 
insult were at once converted into " loud ap- 
plause and aves vehement." It was an odd 
circumstance altogether, that he should hap- 



270 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



pen to pass through a meeting of the 
kind. 

I was in Irving s church one day when " the 
gift of tongues," (as some style it,) or (as others 
hold) the natural excitement of ardent minds, 
was brought into prominent action. The sub- 
ject, as you know, is much talked of. Although, 
since the occurrence, the church over which 
Irving presides has been densely crowded ; on 
that day there was only the ordinary congre- 
gation, rather, in fact, a small one. After 
Irving had finished his second prayer we were 
much astonished by hearhig a female voice 
break out in loud outcries. The scene was 
very exciting, and to me the tones appeared 
very like those uttered by a poor man who 
went into fits at the Southampton Theatre 
when Miss Kemble was acting there. Irving 
made a sign to those near the woman to take 
her into the vestry, and during the passage 
thither she continued her exclamations. They 
were also heard from the vestry for two or 
three minutes. There appeared to be no di- 
vision of syllables, and indeed the chief noise 
consisted in sounds of Oh ! Oh ! variously 
modulated from high to low. Irving rose 
majestically in the pulpit, and said that thanks 
should be rendered to God, inasmuch as the 
Holy Spirit had manifested Himself. When 




EXTRACTS, ETC. — IRELAND. 271 



the time of sermon came, he said that he 
would change the subject, in consequence of 
that which had occurred. He gave us a com- 
ment, with much skill in elucidation, on the 
14th of Corinthians. Since that day the 
newspapers have had many articles on the 
subject, and, among people interested in re- 
ligious matters of the kind, there has been 
much excitement. A large number of clergy- 
men have come to ascertain for themselves 
what is going on. Irving especially dislikes 
this, and sometimes declaims against it. He 
says, in my opinion unwarrantably enough, 
that they should come to receive and believe, 
but not to inquire at all. So far as I can 
judge, the real state of the case is, that the 
sounds break out under a strong emotion, in 
which the intellect has little part, and that 
the thoughts which next occur are given out 
as the interpretation. 

There are numerous attempts at representa- 
tions of Mr. Irving in the shop-windows. I 
endeavoured to obtain one for you, but really 
they were so unsatisfactory that I thought it 
better to send none than a bad one, which 
would only give a wrong impression of the 
outward features of that wonderful and gifted 
man. Not even the printsellers themselves 
can praise them, and they tell me that better 
prints could soon be available. 



272 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



I hope you got the sketch of a plan for 
forming home colonies which I sent on Satur- 
day. There are no members left to whom I 
can apply for franks, or have letters enclosed. 
You can have no idea of the time occupied, 
and the difficulties incurred, to get the pro- 
spectus put forward and authorized, even 
in its present meagre and unsatisfactory 
state. The committee form an amusing med- 
ley ; but, after all, it is the best plan to have 
all parties mixed together. Owen, naturally 
enough, found his name a bugbear, which 
frightened many away, and, to his credit, he 
withdrew. By his want of religion, wild de- 
clamation, and overweening speculations, he 
terrifies sober people from the adoption of 
any thing conformable, in the least degree, to 
his own plans. I have no doubt that there is 
much good in parts of them, and no one who 
has been in New Lanark denies that there 
was much to be learned from his system, so 
far as refers to arrangements for physical com- 
fort and good order in the estabhshment. 

I passed a couple of days at Captain Per- 
(sival's* house in Surrey, and much enjoyed 
his friendly hospitality. With that exception 
I have not left London since my excursion 
to Birmingham, which I mentioned to you. 

London is now of course rather thin, but 
* Now Earl of Egmont. 



EXTBACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 273 



quite crowded in comparison with any pre- 
vious season at this time of the year, and the 
parliament will probably meet on the 6th of 
December. I think it very grievous that 
nothing was done (whether provisional or per- 
manent) for the Irish poor last year. The 
fact is, that however boisterous many of the 
Irish members are on other subjects, on that 
of poor laws they are nearly dumb ; I suppose 
by order of O'Connell. I read this morning 
an excellent paper on having the representa- 
tive system introduced into grand juries, in 
the Evening Post. It has for the last three 
weeks come very regularly, and been extremely 
welcome. 

Accounts of dreadful riots in Bristol ar- 
rived last night*, and were in the evening 
papers, but nothing particular was added this 
morning. Parts of the town had been sacked 
and burned by the mob, and it was said the 
military had been awed or overpowered. This 
seems by far the worst affair of the kind which 
has occurred. 

* Part of this news was only too speedily and sadly con- 
firmed. " The riot took place on the entrance of Sir C. 
Wetherell, the recorder, into the city, attended by a large 
police and special force, to open the sessions. He being 
politically obnoxious to the lower order of the citizens, a 
riot ensued, which was of several days' continuance, and 

T 



274 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



108. — From the same to the same. 

Mount Street, London, Nov. n, 1831. 

I have just returned from dining at Lin- 
coln s Inn, which was so exceedingly full, that 
I had to wait till the first party had finished 
their repast. The materials of the dinner are 
just those recommended by the anti-cholera 
doctors — plain and generous — consisting of 
roast mutton and exceedingly strong port 
wine. As to London, I have not heard of a 
single case which admitted the suspicion of 
cholera. Many papers, in the way of trade, 
keep up the excitement, as they do all other 
excitements, by all the means in their power, 
in order to be more read and circulated. The 
White Conduit House alarm was entirely got 
up by the newspapers. 

I received the other day the ' Journal/ 

and certainly it was by no means a party pro- 
duction. I really think it was the only ordinary 
kind of newspaper which I ever perused, of 

which did not terminate until the mansion house, the 
bishop's palace, several merchants' stores, some of the 
prisons (the inmates liberated), and nearly one hundred 
houses had been burned, and many lives lost, Oct. 29, 1831. 
Trial of the rioters, Jan. 2, 1832. Four were executed and 
twenty-two transported." — Haydn s Diet, of Dates, Art. 
Bristol Biots. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 275 

which I was unable to discover the politics. 
No praise this, for I don't think the editor has 
any. The publication is truly Boeotian. 

In times of varied excitement like the pre- 
sent, I understand that the newspapers have a 
vast deal more influence, even on subjects de- 
void of any considerable interest, and are a 
great deal more purchased, than in the more 
tranquil periods. The reason appears to be, 
that many people give up for a time their 
more solid reading, as inappropriate to the 
moment, except for the hermit, anchorite, or 
speculative philosopher. You can have no 
conception of the quantity of small cheap 
publications now in circulation among the 
poorer classes, some of them written in the 
most violent language, calling the king Mr. 
William Guelph, the lords and bishops by 
their mere names without any addition, the 
soldiers man-butchers, &c. &c. There is a 
great deal of political violence and asperity 
about, and a large body (I am sorry to say) 
seems determined not to wait the necessary 
time for making any such arrangements as 
would gradually lead to fair representation 
and all its accompanying benefits. A man 
will submit without murmur to a law that he 
has assisted in making, though it be ten 
times as severe as that made exclusively by 
T 2 



276 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



others. I have heard that in the really free 
states of Switzerland, and in some American 
states of the same constitution, social regu- 
lations, and those of the police, are far more 
strict than any thing known even in despotic 
countries. 

I suppose that party spirit runs even higher 
still in Ireland. Here, politics are more a 
matter of speculation and private judgment, 
and only mobs shew violence and fools private 
animosity on account of political tenets or ac- 
tions ; but at present the tendency in Ireland 
is unfavourable on these points. If a person 
has strong convictions of political action being 
a duty to every acting and thinking man, and 
on these politics has perhaps very decided 
opinions, I believe the best way for him is to 
be very abstemious in private conversation on 
these points, without the smallest relaxation 
of his efforts, when public opportunity occurs. 
This may save a man from much annoyance. 
Mere party topics are to me distasteful in 
every respect, but when I use the word poli- 
tics, I mean quite a different thing, viz. " the 
study of what is for the happiness of the 
people at large, and practical furtherance of 
the results drawn from such study." 

Since I have been in London I have ven- 
tured to write a pamphlet, which I hope you 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 277 

will like, though I know it is but a poor pro- 
duction when the exceeding interest of the 
subjects which I attempted to handle are 
taken into consideration. The fact was, I did 
not like to let the opportunity of the Bristol 
riots, and the consequent excitement on the 
state of the labouring class, to slip by without 
making a few observations connected with the 
state of our population generally. I have al- 
luded to the want of a more organized system 
of education throughout the country, to the 
disunion prevalent among different classes of 
society, and to certain means by which the poor 
may unite, not for political purposes, but for 
obtaining various comforts and advantages, 
both physical and moral. " Eather a daring at- 
tempt for a youngster," you will probably say. 
But I know you never discourage such things, 
and therefore I write quite freely about them. 
All I can say is, that I take to print merely 
with the desire to be useful. Yesterday I 
received the first proof sheet. Please not to 
mention this to anybody at present. Only 
one person knows of my proceeding, and that 
was for the sole object of obtaining advice 
about the introduction or omission of certain 
passages in the pamphlet. 



278 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



109.— From his Father to F. T. 

Brockley Park, Nov. 14, 1831. 

You need not be under any apprehension, 

my dear F , of any personal risk in my 

remaining at my post. In fact, the rumours 
you have heard have been extremely exag- 
gerated ; but there have been two bad cases 
of murder in this neighbourhood, one near 
Moyenna, and another at the Clogh collieries, 
vdthin ten miles of this place. That at Clogh 
was for taking over the head of a farm oc- 
cupant, as well as I can understand. There 
have also been some cases of minor outrage, 
but nothing like any systematic attack on 
the higher classes. 

In the three counties of Kilkenny, Queen s, 
and Carlow, the clergy can get no tithes or 
composition. As yet the system does not 
extend much farther than the diocese of Dr. 
Doyle, who has used all his apostolic influence 
against their payment ; and has gone so far 
as to lay himself, in my opinion, open to 
prosecution. In the meantime, the poorer 
clergy suffer great distress, and have peti- 
tioned government in large bodies, but as 
yet without any result. 

I read your prospectus of colonization with 
great interest, and highly approve of it, as 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 279 

far as you have gone into detail, but it must 
be necessarily meagre in the beginning. It 
is as well that Owen should have seceded 
from the committee, as a prejudice is natu- 
rally excited against him, both from his own 
failures, and from his rejection of a religious 
foundation. As far as you have gone you 
have been sowing the seed, but until the 
question of reform is settled, I have little 
hope of the project being taken into parlia- 
mentary consideration. 

The loan-fund here prospers, and has done 
great good in many instances — no harm in 

S T and I had a long argument on 

the 14th Corinthians and the gift of tongues, 
Irving, &c. I wish I had had your plain, 
sensible, and satisfactory eyewitness state- 
ment of what really passed. Have you any 
objection that I should sometimes read an 
extract from your letters, and leave the choice 
to my discretion. They are very interesting 
indeed in the present most exciting times * — 

* In order to corroborate this notice relative to the 
extreme excitement of the time, the editor may remind 
his readers that the whole country had been agitated for 
some months to its very centre on the question of Reform, 
proposed in the House of Commons by Lord John Russell, 
March 1, 1831. In the House of Commons there had 



280 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



specially as from London. What are your 
plans as to remaining in England or joining 
me here \ I should be sorry to counteract 
your objects or your wishes, but I should be 
delighted to see you whenever you have no 
particular reason for staying in England. 



110.— From F. T. to his Father. 

London, Nov. 19, 1831. 

I have begun my dinners at Lincoln s-Inn, 
where I met several old friends, from whom I 
had long been separated, with much gratifica- 
tion. Among them was my old Harrow class- 
man and competitor Fitzherbert, who was as 
cordial and good-natured as ever. He is de- 
termined to advance in his profession, and 
will, I expect, succeed — but this is not an 
easy thing now that all professions are so 

been several divisions in favour of the measure, but these 
had been defeated in the Lords, where, on May 7, there 
was a majority of thirty-five against ministers. On this 
they resigned. Great agitation ensued : and they resumed 
office on the King giving them power to create additional 
peerages towards carrying the measure in the Upper 
House. This was finally done June 4, and the Royal 
assent given June 8. This whole year, with the end of 
the preceding one, was marked by the strongest political 
excitement. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. LONDON. 281 

overstocked in this long continued peace. 
Every line is crowded — church, law, and, 
above all, when people can get into it, the 
diplomatic order, into which you once thought 
of my going. 

I have been introduced to Prof. Smythe, 
of Cambridge, by his nephew, O'Hanlon, but 
had not an opportunity of much conversation 
with him. What a fine head and intelligent 
countenance he has ! I thought him very like 
Mr. Dunne, the great Platonic scholar and 
preacher. 

R — 7 s verses are in the ' Casket,' of which I 
will send you a copy next week. They are in 
very good company, e. g. with those of Rogers, 
Scott, Byron, Campbell, Sec. The book, as I 
mentioned to you, is for a family in decayed 
circumstances, and is published by Murray, in 
a first rate style of typography. 

I dined a few days ago with Lady Byron 
at Hanger Hill, not far from Ealing. I like 
her society very much, and consider her one 
of the cleverest and most benevolent persons 
I ever met in my fife. Her history, of course, 
must make her of peculiar interest to all 
who know her. Her daughter is now about 
sixteen, with a fine form of countenance, 
large expressive eyes and dark curling hair. 
Her features bear a likeness to her father s, 



282 



ORIGDsAL LETTERS, 



but require some observation before it appears 
strongly. Then, I think, it does. At present 
her health is delicate, and she is obliged to use 
crutches. I am sure that you will be interested 
on hearing both of the mother and daughter, 
as so much connected with the poetry of our 
day. How much my dear mother, with her 
strong though chastened interest in Lord 
Byron's history and writings, would have felt 
at seeing his wife and child ! I had much plea- 
sant and (to me) profitable talk with the for- 
mer, and nothing could be more simple, and 
at the same time more forcible and original 
than the tone of her conversation. She is 
deeply read in all useful subjects, and at the 
same time most practical in all details of ac- 
tion for the good of her fellow creatines. 

I have just finished ^loore's Life of Lord E. 
Fitzgerald. He does all he can to make hi m 
a complete hero, but I was rather disappointed 
with finding so few evidences of talent or 
powers of mind in him. The filial and do- 
mestic letters in the first volume are delight- 
ful and engaging, but have little to do with 
the leading points of his life, to which they 
are preparatory. Very little is said of Pa- 
mela, whom he married (it appears) after a 
month's acquaintance. 

Some assistance is given in the work for 



EXTRACTS, ETC. LONDON. 283 



a fresh rebellion in the descriptions of the 
way to defend a town against troops by bar- 
ricades, &c. ; and nobody can at all approve 
of or justify IA Edward s killing any one 
sent officially to take him prisoner. 

A brief letter of mine in behalf of the de- 
stitute French clergy has appeared in the 
papers, and a considerable sum in their be- 
half has resulted from its publication. A few 
lines in the * Times ' is better than a volume 
in any other way for such good purposes. 

Hoping that you continue well, I am, &c. 



111. — From the same to the same. 

London, Nov. 22, 1831. 

Let me send you the famous receipt of Sir 
M. Tierney against cholera, lest it should 
visit you, as it does so many. It is very 
simple. When attacked, take twenty-five 
drops of cajeput oil. If it is not effective in 
stopping the mischief at once, take 50 drops 
more in five minutes after without any hesi- 
tation. 

One of the French clergy, of whom I re- 
cently spoke to you, called on me this morn- 
ing to thank me for my humble efforts to 
obtain for them some aid in their time of 
need. He is sixty-three years old, but the 
youngest of the sufferers — in fact, not one of 



284 ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



the seventeen cases which I sent to the news- 
paper is of men tinder seventy. The late re- 
volution has entirely deprived them of the 
pensions which they used to receive from the 
reigning branch of the Bourbons. They have 
not been able to turn their hands to any 
other resources, like their younger brethren. 
The present king of France was applied to 
on their behalf last February, but, as yet, 
has done nothing for them Sixty pounds has 
been sent in, as a beginning, in consequence of 
the late appeal, and some attention has been 
directed to them personally and individually. 

I have just read the first half of General 
Arthur O'Connor s letter to Lafayette on the 
reasons why France has lost so many of the 
advantages which he considers she ought to 
have derived from the recent revolution. He 
dwells much on the inordinate power of the 
bureaucracy, and (as it appears to me) 
very judiciously enforces the benefit of the 
people, through their representatives, or in 
some way or other, having the privilege of 
appointing their local functionaries, instead of 
all being left to one central, L e. Parisian or 
ministerial appointment. 

I was rather amused at the contrast of 
opinion between two parties called liberal re- 
garding my pamphlet about the Bristol riots, 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 285 

education, &c. The 'Morning Chronicle/ in 
noticing it, called it " an excellent pamphlet," 
on which Cobbett attacked both that paper 
and me in a most unmerciful way, making an 
extract from my production, and favouring 
me with the epithets of knave, fool, &c. 
Some of our friends would say that his con- 
demnation is the very best praise, and I am 
not sure that they would be altogether 
wrong. 

You mention the distress and most trying 
contests for tythe among the Irish clergy. 
Surely, if they cannot enforce their rights in 
any legitimate way, then, so long as these 
are their rights, the government should step 
in and do it for them, or, at all events, should 
not suffer them to be losers. They are public 
functionaries, and is it not a great want of po- 
litical principle and honesty to suffer the spi- 
ritual guardians of the people to starve in 
consequence of the inability of the executive 
government to enforce their rights 1 Even 
if a mans windows, are broke in a riot, the 
hundred, in which he dwells, must, I believe, 
pay for them ; and so it appears to me that 
the State, holding the general funds of the 
country under its hand and regulation for 
all needful disbursements and demands, 
should secure what is due to individual, and 



286 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



admitted to be due, though there are no 
available means to enforce payment. How 
fond people sometimes are of non-interven- 
tion ! I see that the French min istry have 
lately got into a scrape by non-intervention 
in relief of the starving workmen at Lyons. 



112. — From the same to the same. 

London, Xov. 26, 1831. 

I have just returned from a short run 
to Cambridge, where I met several of B. — 's 
friends, and was most hospitably treated — 
e. g. in ODe day breakfasted with Brookheld 
at Trinity, where I met Kerry, Lord Lans- 
down's son, who talked of bunding at Lough- 
nacurran. I praised the site strongly, as it 
well deserves. Dined in company with Ten- 
nyson, a real poet, rare as such personages 
are now. Attended the Debating Society ; 
and finished the day by supping at Blakesley's 
rooms, where I met Thirlwall, Whewell, and 
Hallam, all men of firstrate abilities. 

May I ask whether you know Forster s 
Essay on the indisposition of men of taste to 
Evangelical Religion 1 I have just read it 
for the first time, and though it is quite in 
a different line from his Essay on Decision of 
Character, it appears to me not less valuable. 



EXTBACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 287 



Indeed, if it helps to expose the secret springs 
of such prejudice, and leads to their being 
resisted and overcome by men of education 
and refinement, it must be considered as even 
more valuable still. I dare say you have the 
book, though I do not remember your ever 
having noticed it to me among the many 
good authors whom you have suggested for 
perusal. 

I have not confined myself alone to Mr. 
Irving, but as you were interested in what 
I said about him and his church proceedings 
in a former letter, and as these matters afford 
such an intense interest at the present time 
to so many of our relatives and others among 
the upper classes of Ireland, I will send you 
a few more particulars on the subject on a 
future occasion. Many clergymen of our 
Church attend his ministry, besides distin- 
guished laymen and lay- women ; and I believe 
that he has done a vast deal of good by his 
clear and most eloquent preaching. He speaks 
a great deal of our Saviour, and describes 
all who are true believers in Christ as saved 
already, through faith, and dwells a great deal 
on the future coming of the Lord in His 
glory * 

* The Editor cannot say, at the present moment, whether 
he heard any thing heretical or not, in these few ministra- 



288 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



Irving s position is as different as possible 
from that which he occupied when I remember 
going with you and my dear mother to hear 
him in the full tide of his London popularity 
among the upper classes some years ago. 
That was at the Caledonian Asylum chapel, 
when there was quite a rush of the most in- 
tellectual and distinguished people of London 
to hear him. I can even now remember the 
throng of carriages, and the stories of some 
favoured magnate, who could not otherwise 
get a place, being put in through a window 
as his only opportunity. Among others who 
went were the Duke of York, Lord Liverpool, 
Canning, Brougham, and Macintosh, besides 
a host of others — some going for really reli- 
gious improvement, and multitudes of others 
to see him, and hear him as the great ora- 
torical lion of the day. I remember well that 
one of the two or three sermons I heard there 
was nearly three hours long"", and he used 

tions. His present impression is, that from his limited 
theological knowledge at the time, he would not have per- 
ceived it, if of a subtle kind — if of a glaring kind, would 
have heard no more of them. 

* Mr. Irving was not less eccentric in the occasional 
length of his services than in other matters. The Editor 
heard an account of his conducting family worship in the 
evening at the house of one who had invited him. He had 
gone on so long, that, at last, the master of the house ven- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. LONDON. 



289 



now and then to sit down and take breath 
and rest. All this has long passed away. 
He has now been ejected from the National 
Scotch Church, and ministers to a flock of 
his own special followers. 



113. — From the same to the same. 

Chessel, Sept. 14, 1832. 
I have now been here since the ninth. 
To-day we are going to dine at Lord Dun- 
donald s, and I am rather curious to see this 
hero of the ocean in his own Hampshire 
home. The day before yesterday I went 
with Mr. Napier — brother of the author of 
the Peninsular War, and an intelligent, liber- 
ally-minded man — to the Mechanics' Institute 
in Southampton. Bullar gave a lecture, which 
was very well received. I am very much 
obliged for the Irish papers, but am sorry to 
see by the ' Leinster Express' of this morning 
that the cholera has come so near to you as 
Maryborough. I hope that the best remedies 

tured to address him some hint that it was time to bring 
his exposition to an end. Indignantly turning towards 
him, Mr. Irving exclaimed, " Who art thou, man, that 
dost presume to interrupt the man of God in his ministra- 
tions 1 " Those who knew his figure, manner, and voice 
can only realize to the full the silence and awe which in- 
stantly ensued. 

U 



290 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



will be ready in the house, so that something 
may be done if anybody is attacked. 

I have just read a portion of Mr. Atwood s 
evidence on the currency, and should like to 
know your opinion of the view which he enter- 
tains, that employment depends more upon 
the abundance of circulating medium, and the 
facility for putting into life and energy the 
capital of a country, than upon its mere 
existence or quantity. 

I see by the ' Chronicle' that a bank in. 
London for the exchange of articles without 
the intervention of money payments has suc- 
ceeded in its early stage, and as an auxiliary 
to previous measures, I look on this species 
of barter as a system which, if judiciously 
and honestly worked out, may prove of con- 
siderable benefit to the artisan class of so- 
ciety. A carpenter is unemployed for two 
days of the week. With part of his wages 
for the other four days he buys the raw 
material for making a table. He takes it 
to a kind of labour-mart, or co-operative ba- 
zaar, and has it valued, say as the result 
or due production of two days' labour. The 
manager of the bazaar, or a committee ap- 
pointed for the purpose, gives him a ticket, 
entitling him to another article, valued at 
two days' labour- of a man similarly skilled in 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 291 



some other trade of equal pay, or to two or 
three more small articles to the same amount. 
Thus he may get a hat, a waistcoat, a candle- 
stick, or any other article brought in upon 
the same principles. The ticket or labour 
note is then destroyed. You will see that 
the difficulty here is in getting just valuators. 
There are modes, however, of overcoming this 
difficulty in prospect; but, should it be impos- 
sible, there is another resource, viz. by pre- 
venting any person from taking out one 
article of such or such value till another has 
agreed to take his, considered by him of the 
same value. The absence of call for an over- 
estimated article will bring things to a right 
standard. " I expect some valuable results 
from this system, as likely to give the work- 
man a larger portion of benefit in his work, 
and as a mode of desirable employment for 
time now passed in total idleness, from the 
absence of employment given by the capitalist. 

I hear that R is much employed in 

theological studies, and am sure that he will 
pursue them with his usual zeal and indus- 
try, and that he and F are very kind 

in taking pains with the Garrons population. 
They much need it. Something has been 
done for their benefit, but much more is 
requisite. 

U 2 



292 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



114. — From the same to the same. 

Hen and Chickens, Birmingham, Oct. 4, 1832. 
I arrived here last night, after a very slow 
journey of sixteen hours, from London — shall 
remain here to-day, and leave it for Liverpool 
or Holyhead according to the appearance of 
the weather, and the probability of a smooth 
or rough voyage, which makes more difference 
to me than to most people. I met major 
Mahon, son-in-law to the bishop of Norwich, 
the day before yesterday, and he told me that 
the bishop's ordination was to be on Saturday 
next. He spoke also of the extreme difficulty 
of obtaining any curacy at all. Blencowe, a 
friend of mine, whom I spoke to on these 
subjects, partly in consequence of a commis- 
sion from Townshend"*, told me that a London 
curacy was not difficult to be obtained, in 
consequence of the small salaries comparative 
with the expense of house-rent and general 
living. 

While in London I visited the Exchange 
bazaar, which I mentioned to you. Though it 
had only commenced a few days, a great 
deal of business was going on, and the work- 
ino- men seemed to be full of zeal and interest 
in the subject. I foresee, however, some diffi- 

* Afterwards Bishop of Meath ; a valued friend of the 
Editor. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — BIRMINGHAM. 293 

culties in this particular instance, chiefly from 
its being too extensive for a mere beginning. 

There are two or three bodies of per- 
sons hard at work in London for introducing 
something on the home-colony plan, but even 
in such an object schism, dispute, and party- 
spirit seems, alas ! to creep in ; and I do not 
think much will be done at the present time 
in England, still less in Ireland, where the 
strong political feelings and feuds which pre- 
vail, and will take some time to subside, al- 
most preclude any such thing as general 
improvement of the people, except through 
private efforts. These, I trust, will continue 
and be multiplied. 

Processions of the unemployed have taken 
place here in Birmingham, and they are said 
to have presented a most haggard and melan- 
choly appearance. The walls are chalked 
with expressions of the most shameful de- 
scription, and violence of spirit seems to pre- 
dominate on all sides. What will be the end 
of it all % A manufacturing town under the 
lash of political agitation is a moral pit of 
snakes like that of Dante. 

I forgot to mention, that, while at Chessel, 
I had one day an opportunity of witnessing 
a very curious scene at Lord Dundonald s. You 
know that he is full of zeal and enterprise 



294 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



about steam carriages for the road. He has 
built a vehicle of a construction singularly 
compact and small. I was present at one 
of his experiments, when, instead of start- 
ing, part of the engine, chiefly the wheels, 
went to pieces, under the power of the steam. 
His lordship, Urquhart and myself were the 
only persons present beside the workmen, the 
experiment being made in the stable-yard. 
When the iron began to fly in pieces, the two 
amateur visitors retreated, I must say, with- 
out hesitation. As the mischief went on, all 
the workmen retreated too, and stood in a 
circle to see the results, but his lordship held 
his ground, and absolutely kept walking round 
the engine, and putting his head down among 
the machinery to see what was going on ! I 
don t think I ever saw a greater specimen of 
cool courage in my life. It was a singular 
sight, and quite illustrative of a character in 
which fear seems not to exist. 

I had a ride one day with Mr. Sturgess 
Bourne; he was so good as to give me his 
political and economical opinions very openly. 
He is in great alarm about the state of the 
country, and doleful beyond measure about 
Ireland. He considers that the Dutch colonies 
have failed, as it was found they could not 
pay what they expected. William Allen, the 



EXTRACTS, ETC. —IRELAND. 



295 



quaker, is just gone there, and I hope he will 
clear up the matter, and present a more cheer- 
ing report. I myself do not believe that they 
have failed to any great extent. I used to 
hear just the same remarks after I had re- 
turned from Holland, and witnessed their 
success and increasing extension. 



115. — From a Friend in the Queens County, 
Ireland. 

Oct. 1 8, 1832. 

As you ask my advice on your answer to 
the invitation 4c to stand for this county, I 
say, Come forward by all means, if there is 
any fair prospect of success. Do not vote for 
the repeal in any way, nor give any pledges. 
To go into parliament pledged in any way is 

* The Editor would be unwilling to omit all allusions 
to this subject. Soon after this period, political questions 
lost that amount of interest on his mind, which they then 
occupied, and were replaced by subjects more connected 
with his present profession. The freedom of action which 
was always allowed him, the political principles on which 
he was bred up, the strong desire for public service to- 
wards the improvement of a country then deeply distressed 
and disturbed, though now so happily and abundantly 
improved — these, perhaps, were among the chief reasons 
why he entertained at all a proposal of the kind. To 
abstain altogether, under certain circumstances, is the 
wisdom of advanced, not of youthful days. 



296 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



virtually to be the slave of the undefined opin- 
ion of the most noisy of the voters. Every 
thing will depend on the registry. If the 
landlords feel that their interest in the new 
constituency is weakened, they may perhaps 
be disposed to lend then influence to one of 
then own order, whom they could depend 
upon, and whom the people would consent 
to return, rather than see the return of some 
ultra-liberal repealer. Again, if the registry 
proves very democratical, such a candidate is 
sure to come in. But if the registry proves 
decidedly conservative, some one of similar 
politics will of course succeed, and you would 
not. 

So far as I judge, this is the state of affairs 
as bearing on your prospects. 

Do not give any person the power of putting 
an extinguisher on your claims, but keep per- 
fectly quiet for the present. You will soon 
hear more on the subject. 



116.— From his Father to F. T. 

Brockley Park, Dec. 6, J 83 2. 
I have had some full conversations with 
two or three of your best friends here, and 
they unanimously agree that electioneering 
matters are not yet sufficiently ripe for you 
to leave London and come over here. It is 



EXTRACTS, ETC. IRELAND. 297 

more easy for others to obtain an unpreju- 
diced new of your chances of success than if 
you were amongst us ; and you will be able, 
when absent, to form a cooler judgment than 
would be possible under present circum- 
stances for one exposed to the local pressure 
and excitement, which is very great indeed. 

It is by no means certain that it is in the 
power of the liberal party to bring in one 
member, but they are absolutely talking of 
two ! Do not think of standing if this should 
be the case ! It is unfortunate for you that the 
question of Repeal should have taken the 
very prominent place which it does at this 
time. Otherwise, I consider there would be 
no doubt of your success ; but it seems to 
me you must be content to fare with many 
others of respectability and position, who 
have declined a certainty of election when 
attended with the pledge to support Repeal. 
" Bide your time" should be your motto. You 
are gathering the best capital — that of cha- 
racter and active usefulness, independent of 
party ; and I have no doubt that, if you de- 
sire entrance into parliament, you will be able 
to come in, when the present unhappy state 
of the county shall have passed away, demo- 
ralized as it is, and only, I am sorry to say, 
organized for mischief and disunion. I am 



298 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



well aware that this advice cannot be very 
palatable for any active and young aspirant 
to political exertion and usefulness ; but it is 
the best I can give, and I am sure you will 
take it in the right spirit. As you may sup- 
pose, I am not a little anxious on the matter. 



117. — From the same to the same. 

Dec. ii, 1832. 
I hear that the liberals have sent you a 
requisition to stand, but wish to fetter you in 
some way or other on the subject of Repeal. 
I am very desirous to hear of your decision. 
It is my belief that a large number, even of 
the party in question, will not be satisfied, for 

this time, with any other candidate but . 

It is, however, quite out of the question that 
he would sit for two sessions in parliament. 
You might come in next time, if you wished, 

with a good grace ; but even if were to 

yield to you now, I am confident that the 
disappointment and jealousy of a large party 
would be such as to make them very luke- 
warm towards you on a future occasion. 
There is a great desire at the present moment 
to prove the power of O'Connell against the 
aristocracy, and, accordingly, no one connected 
with that body is in favour, who, notwith- 



EXTRACTS, ETC. LONDON. 299 

standing other merits, would appear likely to 
act independently of him as a leader. This, it 
is well known, would be your case. 



118. — From the same to the same. 

Dec! 12, 1832. 
I am very happy that you have got out of 
the election question and embarrassment so 
honourably to yourself. A large number of 
the voters will not be satisfied without a 
thorough pledged Eepealer. I fear that we 
shall have a violent contest and much dis- 
turbance. My mind is much easier since I 
have heard of your letter to the club, and of 
their decision"*. Bide your time, I repeat 
again. 

119. — From the same to the same. 

London, Jan. 11, 1833. 

I see that they have spoken about me 
civilly enough in the Leinster Express. Some 
observations have not been made in the same 
spirit ; but I would just ask, Whose hands 
can be clean, if, at times of such extraordinary 
excitement as the present, one is to be held 
responsible for all the opinions and practices 

* The Editor had finally declined to become a candidate 
on the terms considered requisite. 



300 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



of those who, on the majority of political 
questions, take the same view as ourselves % 
Again, it is easy enough for those who abstain 
altogether from any thing like public or po- 
litical affairs to condemn those who pursue a 
different course. 

While, however, I write thus, I must add, 
that it appears to me very unlikely that I shall 
ever again take an active part in Irish politics. 
I do not see any probability, for some time 
to come, of a sufficient calm to enable one to 
launch one's boat without too great anxiety of 
mind, and a responsibility beyond that which 
I am at all called upon to meet. It is, of 
course, quite another thing with those whose 
boat is already launched, but from whose age, 
position, and experimental acquaintance with 
politics, my case is quite different. It will be 
said that this view of mine at once puts an end 
to all my further pubhc aspirations. Be it so ! 
The work must be left to people who have 
those claims on them, which I have not, either 
from property or position. It is highly im- 
probable that I shall ever again be involved 
in such matters. Three grounds of satisfac- 
tion, however, remain ; first, that I did not 
put myself forward ; secondly, that I with- 
drew before I was involved too deeply to 
retract ; and lastly, that no one can say that 



EXTRACTS, ETC. — LONDON. 301 



I ever indulged in any unkind remark against 
any person whatsoever, or allowed any others 
so to do, so far as I could help it. 

That God may preserve you safe in these 
perilous times is my earnest prayer. 



120. — From the same to the same. 

London, Jan. 18, 1833. 

Many thanks for your long and kind letter, 
and for your information relative to the late 
dreadful murder, which seems, from its total 
causelessness and the long-protracted animo- 
sity of the guilty parties, to have been one of 
the most iniquitous transactions by which so- 
ciety has ever been defaced. The account of it 
has been put in the ' Times/ and many have 
spoken to me on the subject, asking the pro- 
bable cause or origin of the transaction. I 
really could give no other, except that your 
steward was a Scotchman, and lately brought 
•to the country. Has any other transpired 1 
In the late case of cholera, or supposed cho- 
lera, he behaved remarkably kindly one even- 
ing to a poor sufferer, going up after it was 
dark in a most stormy night to put straw on 
her hut, or to remove her, if needful, and this 
by his own offer, as we considered it unfair 
to ask any body to go up in the prevalent 



302 



ORIGINAL LETTERS, 



dread of infection. This shewed that he was 
not of an unkind or unfeeling disposition to- 
wards the poor of the neighbourhood. 

Henry Moore gave me some papers for 
R , relative to the observance of the Sab- 
bath. If I could have got a frank here, I 
should have sent them to him, but have as 
yet no opportunity. Henry Moore's parish"'" 
seemed to me a perfect model, or nearer to 
perfection than any I have seen, relative to 
ministerial care and instruction of the poor, 
and general openness and kindness and fami- 
liarity of the pastor and his family with all 

classes under his care. E should, I 

thmk, go and examine it as a good specimen 
of parochial organization, previous to under- 
taking any cure. 

Uncle Charles was so good as to ask me to 
dinner the day before I left Dublin, to meet 
Mr. Stanley t and some of the Phoenix Park 
staff. Mr. S. was very agreeable in society, 
and in high spirits — seemed to throw all offi- 
cial cares for the time in metre Hibernicum 
portare ventis — -just gave us enough, and not 
too much, of public affairs — told some very en- 
tertaining anecdotes, and had nothing in him 
of the political don. I was much pleased 
to meet him. They say over here that he 

* Carnew, Co. Wexford. f Now Earl of Derby. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. LONDON. 303 

and his colleagues are in a very tottering 
condition — specially on the question of the 
Irish church establishment. Should he quit 
the Irish secretaryship, Sir John Hobhouse is 
talked of as his successor. 

Sir John, however, must look out, or he 
will lose his Westminster seat. He and Sir 
Francis Burdett are now considered by a large 
body of their former adherents as not enough 
advanced for them — as absolutely backward in 
progress and reform. Surely a most strange 
sign of the times ! 



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